Hills Antenna & TV Systems

Discount Type: Trade Cash Account


Hills Antenna & TV Systems is the leading supplier in Australia and New Zealand of a wide range of Microwave Antennas designed for Wireless LAN for the enthusiast and professional alike. These very reliable and well priced antennas have been used extensively over years with great success by members of Air-stream Wireless and other community wireless groups around Australia proving their worth time and time again.

Popular models used by members include the 19dbi and 25dbi 2.4Ghz Grid Dish Directional Antenna for Client Nodes and the 26dbi and 29dbi 5.8Ghz Grid Dish Directional Antenna for backbone connections between Core Router Nodes. and other Independent Router Nodes.

Please visit the Hills Antenna & TV Systems website for more information www.wireless.hillsantenna.com.au

Counter Sales
13-15 Woodlands Tce
Edwardstown SA 5039
Ph: (08) 8275 8400
Fax: (08) 8277 6833
Email:

Please note: That when purchasing equipment you must state clearly that you Trade Purchaser and a member of Air-stream Wireless. You must also present a current Air-stream Wireless Membership Card as proof of membership, please contact the committee for more details about obtaining a membership card.

Wifi Extreme

Discount Type: Discounts vary from product to product but range from about 10 to 15% off the full price. Must be a current member of Air-Stream.

Wifi Extreme is a local Adelaide based business, yes that's right Adelaide! Wifi Extreme specialise in long distance outdoor wireless networking using 802.11 products in the class licence 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands. Their emphasis is on reliability, simplicity and modularised kits. Your one stop place for connecting to Air-Stream!

Their product range is slowly growing and currently includes MikroTik Routerboard single board computers, MiniPCI modules from Ubiquiti and Senao, pigtails, antennas, wardriving accessories and enclosures.

Wifi Extreme has an online store located at: www.wifiextreme.com.au and if they haven't got what you are looking for always ask.

Contact Details:

Wifi Extreme
http://www.wifiextreme.com.au
PO Box 3085
Newton SA 5074
Phone: 0416 3 48484
Email: sales at wifiextreme dot com dot au

To access discounts:

1. Create an account by clicking "log in yourself" from the front page or "Log In" from the top navigation bar
2. Send an email to sales on the "Contact Us" page, using your Air-Stream email
3. Your account will then be flagged to show discount prices whenever you are logged in

Duxtel

Duxtel is delighted to extend their community discount offer to members of the Air-Stream Wireless.

All financial members of Air-Stream qualify for a 10% discount on per-unit list prices for products listed in the online catalogue.

Further discounts may be available for bulk orders - contact Duxtel for more information.

To claim your discount, first create an account using your official air-stream.org email address.

When you have completed your account setup, send an email to sales@duxtel.com requesting an upgrade to our special community discount scheme, and we will update your account to display the preferential pricing.

Once your account has been upgraded, our special discounted pricing will be displayed when logged on to your account - you can also build your order anonymously, and discounts will be applied during the checkout process!

Note that Air-Stream members still qualify for volume discounts where the volume price break is lower than the 10% discount on the unit list price!

Visit Duxtel's online store here shop.duxtel.com.au for more information

Wireless Professional Solutions

Wireless Professional Solutions is pleased to offer 5% discount for whole range of products (applies to items that are not already discounted) available in our store. During the order in notes filed please mention your current membership. You must also have an active air-stream email address as proof of membership. As a official reseller of Mikrotik and Ubiquiti we are trying to provide to Australian wireless society best prices and support.

Our well stocked online store is located at: www.wisp.net.au

WISP - partner for your wireless needs
198 Pacific Highway
2065 Crows Nest
p: 02 8061 7525
f: 02 9954 6360
m: 0425 320 525

Nobles Discount Offer

A. Noble & Son Ltd. have been providers of World Class Lifting Solutions for nearly 100 years and are proud to offer Air-Stream Members on a range of products at their Adelaide branch located in Kilburn.

Nobles offer the following benefits for members of Air-Stream

Height Safety Equipment..up to 10% off
Rigging, Wire Rope & accessories..10-15% off

Great place to get all your height safety gear. View their extensive range in the online catalogue.

Many Air-Stream members have succesfully erected masts with hardware supplied from Nobles.

Please enquire with Jeff at Nobles if you have any questions or specific requirements.
Remember you need to mention that you are a member of Air-Stream and present your Air-Stream membership card.

New Vinyl Air-Stream Stickers

Add the ultimate wireless geek branding to your laptop, car or anything else where it will be noticed with the new Vinyl Air-Stream Stickers.

These are free to members or non-members at the very low cost price of $1.00!

Available only by attending a members meeting (limited numbers).

Air-Stream - Embroidery

Available to members only.

Air-Stream members can now look the part no matter where you are. As you can now have the Air-Stream logo embroidered on you favorite shirt, pants, skirt or jocks for only $5 per garment.

Just drop into Print N Stitch with your garment, let Natalie know you are an Air-Stream member and which of the three options above you would like embroidered.

Different sizes, colours and other items like hats can be arrange however this may cost a little extra.

Where do you go?

Natalie Hastie
Shop 8, 1240 South Road
Clovelly Park SA 5042
Mobile: 0408804851
Phone: 08 8374 4388
Fax: 08 8374 1166
e-mail:
url: www.printnstitch.com.au

Pre-embroidered items are also available for purchase at every meeting or can be ordered from you local extreme wireless supplier.

Air-Stream Wireless T-Shirts

Show your support for Australian Community Wireless Networking everywhere with our new range of Air-Stream Wireless T-Shirts. Made available at the very low price of $15 through the generosity and support of Adelaide's best known and priced wireless lan suppliers Wifi Extreme.

Shirts are available in White or Black and are available in most sizes. Contact Daniel Moscon (shadey) Air-Stream Wireless Merchandising and AirWare, or order one along with your next piece of wifi equipment from Wifi Extreme. These shirts are in high demand so hurry while stocks last...

Little Devil Antennas

Discount Type: Discount to Air-Stream members, negotiated at the request of a certain product or products.

Little Devil Antennas specialise in Antenna's that are simple to use and effective in service. Manufactured and based in Orielton, Tasmania these antennas are build to suit all conditions and have been tested in the field by people who know.

Products Include:

• Parabolic Grid Antennas
• Conifier Conversions
• Horn Antennas
• Corner Reflector
• Little Devil Offset Dish Feeds
• 180 and 360 deg Slot Wave Guides
• C D M A 900 MHz Fringe Area Antennas
• "DIGI DEVIL" Digital TV

Visit their website for details: http://www.ldantennas.com.au

Little Devil Antenna Tests

Ken & Wendy Sulman of Little Devil Antenna have been working with Air-stream Wireless to look at developing a cost effective solution for converting existing 802.11b 2.4Ghz backhaul links over to 802.11a 5.8Ghz.

They have developed some prototype dish feeds which convert existing 2.4Ghz Dish antennas to 5.8Ghz and have donated two different feeds for evaluation. Also one of their famous corner reflector antennas for field testing on the Air-Stream Network.

Initial shed tests look promising and we will begin field testing on actual backhaul links in coming weeks. More information and images coming soon….

MATS Systems

Discount Type: Discount to Air-Stream members, negotiated at the request of a certain product or products.

MATS SYSTEMS is registered in South Australia (July 1999), run by Mark Stevens from a home office with occasional assistance from his wife, and as a result has low overheads. This gives him the ability to provide quality computer components, systems and upgrades at competitive prices and offer local customers face-to-face service especially in the areas of Reynella, Trott Park, Shiedow Park, Lonsdale, Morphett Vale, Woodcroft, etc.

Mark is not limited to these areas for personal service, with customers as far away as Goolwa & Yankalilla in the South to Salisbury, St. Agnes and even Nuriootpa in the North and Mt. Barker, Aldgate and Stirling in the Adelaide Hills.

Please visit their website for more information http://www.mats-systems.com.au

MATS Systems

Address: 130 Sherriffs Rd, Morphett Vale, SA, 5162
Contact Name: Mark Stevens
Telephone: 08 8186 2110
Skype: matssys
Fax: 08 8186 2115
Mobile: 0416 185 291
Email:

Hours of business:

MON-FRI 9am - 5:15pm SA Time, SAT 9am-12:00 SA Time CLOSED SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (OR AS ADVISED)

PacSat Microwave

Discount Type: Discount to Air-Stream members, negotiated at the request of a certain product or products.

PacSat Microwave is all about microwave antennas, that are proving themselves day-in, day-out in some of the harshest environments - from underground mines to deserts, oceans and mountains.

PacSat Microwave design and manufacture antennas that give outstanding performance and durability at an affordable price - antennas that go the distance.

Offering a range of more than 40 standard models of 802.11 compliant wireless LAN antenna and 60 standard models for other frequencies.

Please visit their website for more information http://www.pacsat.com.au

National Sales
PacSat Microwave
Phone: 1800 001 081
Fax: 02 4982 0566
Email:

PassMark Software

PassMark Software are based in Sydney and develop a range of monitoring software including WirelessMon, the software tool that lets you monitor the status of Wireless Wi-Fi adapters and gather information about nearby access points or hotspots in real time. WirelessMon provides comprehensive graphing of signal level, real time IP and 802.11 Wi-Fi statistics.

PassMark also sells Metageek Wi-Spy, a range of affordable, high resolution spectrum analysers that let you quickly scan, analyze, troubleshoot and optimize your Wi-Fi networks (available for the 2.4GHz, 900MHz and 5GHz spectrums). We are the only authorized resellers of the Metageek Wi-Spy range in NSW - and you will not find lower Australian prices for Wi-Spy products anywhere else!

PassMark Software Pty Ltd
Specialists in Software and Hardware Performance Benchmarking Solutions
Suite 202, Level 2
35 Buckingham Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010.
Sydney, Australia
P: + 61 2 9690 0444
F: + 61 2 9690 0445
Website: www.passmark.com

Yawarra Information Appliances

Discount Type: 10% discount across their entire range of products

Yawarra Information Appliances are pleased to be able to provide Air-Stream members with a 10% discount across their entire range of products.

Please use the member discount code ASMD2009. To receive the discount, members will need to quote this code at the time of ordering, either via the yawarra website or by phone, fax or email. To use the code on the Yawarra website, enter it into the field near the bottom of the checkout page and click 'Redeem Voucher'. The discounted total will be calculated and displayed immediately.

Please note : You must state that you are a member of Air-stream Wireless and that your membership is current. You must also have an active air-stream email address as proof of membership.

Yawarra Information Appliances is located in the foothills of the Dandenongs, in Melbourne, Australia and have been operating since January 2005. Offering a range of small form factor, PC compatible hardware by mail order and on-line at http://www.yawarra.com.au/.

Yawarra Information Appliances Pty Ltd
Email:
Phone:(03) 9800-2261
Fax: (03) 9800-2279
Mail: PO Box 606, Boronia VIC 3155, Australia

This discount code is valid until 31 January 2007. Please note also that the member discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Archon Gnosis

Archon Gnosis recognises the value that Air-Stream provides as a whole to the I.C.T community and as such humbly offers a 15% discount on Microsoft SharePoint Consultancy Services, Hosted SharePoint 2010 Sites and SharePoint Training for all members.

For you or your business to take advantage of this offer, please contact

Bulk Buys

With some help from your fellow members a bulk buy is a great way to buy hard-to-source items from overseas by sharing the cost of shipping or getting quantity discount prices from suppliers.

Members are solely responsible for organising bulk buys themselves. This is done by posting the item to the members mail list or this website in the classifieds section of the forums. Consequently it will require some trust and organisation as someone will need to be responsible for the collection of money from other members, order the item(s) from the supplier and make sure those other members get the items when they arrive (usually at a members meeting).

Although there are some risks, if members openly communicate and agree to share the responsibility for purchases, the benefits can be significant...

January 2008 Meeting

Above: Matt the winner of the Air-Stream Door Prize

Thanks to Wifi Extreme, who donated the Atheros Mini PCI Card and PCI Cradle, Air-Stream raised $68, and Matt walked away with the prize after his ticket was drawn out of the hat. Tickets were $2 and were purchased throughout the night. Look out for the next Door Prize at the next meeing in Feburary!

Air-Stream Wireless - Annual General Meeting 2009

Yes it is that time again for all members and friends to come together to celebrate the successful completion of yet another fantastic year. The AGM is more than an opportunity to thank our members and vote in a new committee it is also a time to review and celebrate what we have achieved together. Not only a record number of new members but also renewed memberships, new members systems and community projects. So why not come along and bring a friend to the 2009 Air-Stream Wireless AGM...

Where: Parkside Primary School.
When: Official Meeting begins at 7:30PM
Who: Members and guests
Building: Main Building - Library
Food & Drink: BBQ come early begins 6:30pm
Special door prize: ASLAN Gaming Computer System

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Special Guest Speaker - David Rowe on VoIP
• Annual Reports - Chairperson, Network Plan and Treasurer
• Member Awards Presentation - Contributions to the association
• Voting new committee

Win a world famous Metageek Wi-Spy - Closed

To win, all you need to do is be a member of Air-Stream Wireless and send a short story about your experiences using wireless LAN along with a minimum of three pictures.

To win is easier than you may think, all you need to do is be a member of Air-Stream Wireless and send a short story about your any experience you have had using wireless LAN along with a minimum of three pictures.

Send your entries to the Air-Stream committee by e-mail:

Kindly sponsored by:

The Specialists in Software and Hardware Performance Benchmarking Solutions

Gould Creek Build Report

The Air-Stream Gould Creek site is located on the side of the hill with excellent views looking across adelaide. The site underwent an upgrade on mid october 2009. The site previousley was running two RouterBoard RB433's with a 2.4ghz Backbone to Air-Stream EARC and 5.8ghz to Air-Stream Osbourne. The site also had a Superpass 8db 2.4ghz Omni. It was decided that this site desperatly needed an upgrade from reports of less than dialup speeds. Starting around 8am the new mast and many antennas were loaded up on the trailer and we headed out to the Gould Creek Site (bypassing Bunnings on the way). When we arrived, other Air-Stream members were eagerly awaiting to get started. The old boxes and mast were removed to be reused elsewhere in the network. Once the existing setup was removed, construction on the new awesomeness was started.
	The new and current setup at Air-stream Gould-Creek consists of: Wall-Mountable IP66 Enclosure 2 x RouterBoard RB433AH 1 x RouterBoard RB433 4 x Mikrotik R5H 1 x 2.4ghz Card 4 x 26db 5.8ghz Parabolic Grid antennas 1 x Superpass 8db Omni 1 x 24v Switch Mode Powersupply Assortment of MMCX and U.fl Pigtails Plenty of LMR400 About 80000 Cable Ties and plenty of self amalgamating tape
The New equipment was assembled in the following order: Mounting Brackets for new mast Routerboards, Powersupply, cableing and Pigtails Mounted in box Antennas were attached to the new mast Coax measured, cut and crimped Coax Attached to top antennas + Self Amalgamating Tape Mast attached to mounting brackets Wall box bolted to the wall Antennas connected to pigtails and taped. power run to box Alignment of antennas - This takes quite a while to get right Configeration of routerboards. Data cabling
	The Gould Creek site has various backbones to other key Air-Stream locations: 5.8ghz - Air-stream EARC 5.8ghz - Air-stream Paralowie 5.8ghz - Air-stream Sailsbury East 5.8ghz - Air-stream Osbourne 2.4ghz Omni to Various clients Overall the day was long but a huge success, with much better speeds reaching clients now. The majority of the installation was funded by Air-Stream, with some members contributing antennas and wireless cards and of course their time.

How-To: Setup Air-stream at home.

So you want to get on Air-Stream? Great! Here's a little How-To for getting yourself connected to the network. All Air-Stream connections are made up of 3 essential parts: Some Wireless Gear A Pole or Mast to mount the gear Cabling back to your own network and power In this guide we'll cover these three basic items as we walk through how Air-Stream-Modbury-North was setup from scratch. There will also be a rough costing listed for how much everything cost to give you a realistic idea on what it costs to connect in.
1. Some Wireless Gear
Air-Stream uses 802.11a/b/g hardware to create their network. What is this you may ask? its 2.4ghz and 5.8ghz equipment. If you wish to learn more about the wireless standards click here The basic setup of an Air-Stream site is very modular, it consists of the following parts. A Routerboard A Wireless Card A Pigtail Some Coax with 'N' Connectors An Antenna of some description A Box for it all to go in 1. a. A Routerboard A RouterBOARD is a hardware platform developed by a company called MikroTik. It is essentially just a small computer which runs MikroTiks own RouterOS. If you want to look into what MikroTik have on offer in the RouterBoard range please click here. Air-Stream moved from WRAP2 boards to RouterBoards a few years back, and the last of the WRAP2 boards were decommissioned recently. The change was implemented due to the easier to use interface of RouterOS and due to the higher compatibility with these boards. The other big benefit is what is known as 'POE' or Power Over Ethernet as you can see in the picture on the right, the far left ethernet port has 'POE' written on it. This enables us to power the board via a single network cable. So when you install the gear onto your roof, you only need a single cable running from the box to your house/shed as data and power operate over the same cable. 1. b. A Wireless Card Wireless cards come in all shapes, sizes, frequencies and power ratings. The particular cards which are use in conjunction with the RouterBoard series of boards are known as MiniPCI cards. They are the same MiniPCI Cards which are often found in laptops. The particular cards which Air-Stream uses are suited to this type of installation rather than your home laptop, as they are generally too large to fit inside a laptop. Air-Stream currently has 3 different frequency cards in use: 900mhz MiniPCI 2400mhz MiniPCI 5800mhz MiniPCI Your home wireless operates on the 2400mhz (2.4Ghz) band and this is what all client access points operate in around the network. The specification which runs on 2.4Ghz is 802.11b and 802.11g. Most of Air-Streams backhaul links operate in the 5800mhz (5.8Ghz) band. The specification which runs on 5.8Ghz is 802.11a. The 900mhz cards are not widely used due to a couple of reasons, firstly in Australia we cannot run a full wireless "channel" as the Mobile Phone company's have commercially licensed bands which intrude on the 900mhz spectrum, and secondly the only available antennas which are actually feasible to install are not very directional, so there can only be one 900mhz link in a 20-30km radius otherwise there will be interference. Air-Stream currently has two 900mhz links in service. To do some further reading on a particular type of MiniPCI card please go to the following links: Wistron Neweb CM9 Atheros 802.11a/b/g mini-PCI The Super Range 5 (SR5) 400mw 802.11a mini-PCI	Above: A routerboard with MiniPCI Cards and Pigtails attached
1. c. A pigtail A pigtail, as the name suggests, is the final part of building and sealing of the little box which houses the RouterBoard and Wireless cards. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They must be bought to fit the particular Wireless cards you are using as there are two different connectors currently in use on Wireless Cards today. For some more information on pigtails and connectors please click here. We highly recommend speaking to someone from Air-Stream before purchasing any pigtails to ensure you purchase the correct connector as they are a little tricky to identify some times and there is nothing worse than getting all your gear and realizing it doesn't fit together!     1. d. Coax with 'N' Connectors One of the key things to ensuring the signal from the Wireless card gets to the antenna correctly is the cable which links the two. The thinner the cable, or coax, the more loss there is. Now since wireless networking deals with such small numbers (in mW- milliwatts) any loss is a big loss. So using large 'N' connectors on large coax is the best way to ensure the least amount of loss. Air-Stream uses 'N' connectors on LMR-400 coax. Now unless you are an amateur radio operator this will mean next to nothing to you and this is ok! Its just very thick insulated coax. Air-Stream actually sells it, crimped, by the meter. So once you work out where you are setting up, you can request some cable to be made to spec. Just email the committee and ask for some coax to be made up.     1. e. Antennas There are four basic types of Antennas for wireless networking. The Dish The Omni The Yagi The Panel Typically Air-Stream uses Dishes for long links and backhaul, while Omni's are used for Access Points. For more information, and where to purchase, please follow these links: 2.4 GHz Parabolic Grid Antenna, 24 dBi 5.8 GHz Parabolic Grid Antenna, 26 dBi 2.4GHz 8dBi Omni-directional Antenna Antenna Polarization 1. f. Boxes So all of this gear we have just gathered needs to be housed some how as we want it to be as close to the antennas as possible to reduce loss. Typically for RouterBoards we have been purchasing boxes from Jaycar SEALED DIECAST ALUMINUM ENCLOSURE - 222 X 146 X 55MM However alternatives are wall boxes which have a door and hinges, it really depends where you are setting up. Air-Stream-Modbury-North uses the Aluminium Enclosures. Once the box is purchased, holes need to be cut for Pigtail bulkheads to be mounted into and for a gland for the network cable. This can be done with a drill, a dremel, whatever, as long as it is the right size for the pigtail bulk head to fit tightly and seal properly. The Aluminium lid has a rubber seal so the entire box is sealed and weather proofed.	Above: Coax with 'N' Connectors   Above: An array of 2.4 and 5.8ghz dishes (2.4ghz dishes have the White Semicircle looking dipoles/tips)   Above: A typical Aluminium Enclosure with a single dish connected
2. A Pole or Mast to mount the gear So all of the gear we just went through needs to be mounted onto something. Typically we used a Pole or Mast, but there are some window mounts available for some gear. In some rare cases we are able to utilize the existing TV antenna pole, which enables us to skip the mast installation all together! However most sites require installation of some kind, so we will now step through and follow the installation of Air-Stream-Modbury-North!   Now this installation is an Internally mounted Roof Mast. Meaning its actually mounted inside the roof and pokes out the roof, replacing a tile. This installation requires no Guy-Wires. So what was purchased to so such an installation? A length (6.5m) of 48.3mm Galvanised Tube with 3.2mm Thick Walls. A Tile Replacement Kit 3x 150x90mm 10mm Thick Angle Iron 1x 35mm length of wood Bolts, Screws and Lock Nuts 1x End Cap for the Tubing 3x Ubolts from JayCar And that's it, seems easy right? :)   The installation starts by scouting the area in the roof to check for mounting locations and areas of interest (cross beams etc) Once all measurements were taken, the gear was the purchased. Now its installation time! So we start by mounting the angle iron to the trusts in the roof, which is where the poll will mount to. This is where the plank of wood went, to strengthen the base that the pole will be sitting on.
Now once all of the brackets are in place, its time to prepare the pole to drop into the roof. The pole needs to be cut to length (In this case, 4.5m), the end cap needs to be put on and the tile replacement boot slipped on before you take the pole up onto the roof. This ensures all you are doing is dropping the pole in while standing on tiles. This is the tile replacement kit. It is a sheet of Aluminium with a rubber boot mounted into it. It is completely sealed to ensure no water will pass through. This completely replaces one tile. So later if you wish to remove the pole from the roof, simply take the pole out and put your original tile back. No modifications necessary. Simply cut the rubber boot to size. There is markings on the rubber showing where to cut for what size pole. Now make sure the end cap is securely on, and push the rubber boot over the end, and leave it near the top of the pole, as this is the last thing we will slide down to finish off the installation of the pole. Now with the help of friends, slide the pole into the roof, and slot it into the Ubolts which are attached to your brackets. Get all ubolts around the pole now and roughly fasten, so you can make adjustments to the pole before securing the pole in place. Finally once all ubolts are secured, slide the aluminium tile replacement down the pole and underneath the row of tiles above it. There are instructions written on the aluminium on how to install correctly. Once all tiles and slide back into place, all brackets are secured, you are done!
So now that the pole is all installed you can jump on your roof and secure your air-stream hardware to your pole. Air-Stream-Modbury-North is starting out with 2x 2.4Ghz connections. One for a connection back to Air-Stream-Athelstone and one Omni antenna. Just an example of what the box looks like when open. The Box, 2.4ghz Dish and Omni Antenna's all mounted to the pole. What it all looks like completed up on the roof! So that covers the basic installation of the wireless hardware. Now onto the cabling!
3. Cabling back to your own network and power Cabling your new installation is probably the easiest part. All that is required is that you get one Cat5/Cat5e/Cat6 cable back to your own network switch where it can plug into a PoE (Power over Ethernet) Adaptor and then into your network. The PoE adaptor helps cleanly split data from power. It has two ethernet (RJ45) sockets and one DC socket. They are all clearly labeled on the top of the adaptor and makes for a very neat looking installation. We typically use 24v power supplies on the RouterBoards as it ensures that if there is a current drop over the distance the board will still operate (As they operate on 12v - 36v). The 24v Plug Packs are available from Jaycar. As you can see, the cable simply just pokes back into the roof from the box which is mounted on the pole. So now just cable tie the cable to the mast inside the roof to keep it neat and tidy, and run the cable back to your computer room/network switch. As you can see, it all plugs in nice and neatly and that's it, your Air-Stream installation is complete, your routerboard is powered, your network is connected, now it just needs fine tuning and software configuration and its done!
Summary So in summary, the hardware installation of an Air-Stream site is very easy, everything just clips and plugs together, depending on your installation there's not a huge amount of engineering that is actually required and once your hardware is in and alive you can get someone to come help configure the software side from the comfort of your computer room. Total Cost: 1x Router Board 433 $159.00 1x R52H $95.00 1x XR2 $189.00 1x 19dB 2.4ghz Dish $120.00 1x 8dBi Omni $69.40 2x Pigtails $30.00 1x JayCar Aluminium Box $36.95 1x 6.5m 48.3mm Pole $93.80 3x 10mm Angle Iron (150x90mm) $36.20 Bolts and Nuts $22.45 1x PoE Adaptor $10.00 1x Power Supply $24.95 1x Tile Replacement $29.95 Total $946.65 Total (without AP) $673.25   Thanks to DrGeforce3, Blue18 and Anthony for Help and Photos.

The Anthropology of Establishing a Community Wireless Network (from a Gastronomic Perspective)

Let’s face it – to engage in such revolutionary technical pursuits as pioneering community wireless networking is a task (or pleasure) which befalls a certain unique group within our society. Now, not to be too specific here, but we can safely make a couple of important generalisations without offending anyone too geekishly-inclined or other; we’re male, relatively young, externally socially inept yet internally socially adept, intelligent and have a passion for adventure, albeit polar opposite to in manifestation, but certainly as strong as your average extreme sports junkie.

One might say I have described your classic nerd, and for the most part, one would be right. What I have deliberately neglected to relate is any semblance of race, religion, education, class, wealth or gender – and with good reason. We are drawn together not by any of those things, but by the technology and the social acceptance, camaraderie and sense of achievement that goes with it.

And so it comes to pass that we have a group of young men who seek variety and flexibility in what they put into their bodies. It stands to reason that convenience is rated over nutrition, value over extravagance and clear heads over alcoholism. Well, most of the time anyway. Sure, booze has it’s place, but it’s generally not very prominent when you’re trying to develop a city-wide high speed network using cutting edge technology. I can’t see WarDrinkDriving being a very effective pastime either ...

The holy trinity of convenience plus flavour plus economy comes in no greater incarnation than the humble yiros. If all of those ancient cultures didn’t spend a couple of thousand years working out how to maximise the flavour of meat, disguise a token amount of salad amongst the awesomeness and wrap it in an edible ‘to-go’ package, where would we be, honestly? Who knows what would have happened if something like Christianity ruined their lives a couple of millennia earlier. One thing’s for sure – no yiros. Be warned, however, as not all yiroses are created equal. That said, finding an awesome one in Adelaide is not such a hard task as our fair city is so full of the wonderful people who brought these little parcels of meaty love to our shores in the first place.

Unfortunately such food of the (G[r]eek?) gods is not available when we geeks are at our most productive (read: after 1am). In such cases we find ourselves relegated to 24 hour options which are to put things nicely, slightly less wholesome. Late night testing means we’re either up a hill where we can see absolutely everything, or miles from the city where it’s flat, with no trees or interference. These locations are invariably always only a few minutes from Café de Vili’s. Such illusions are along the same lines as ‘too many pies are never enough’, but at Vili’s, one can see how this adage is often endeavored to be proven correct. Alas, however ironic it may be, a testament to the comparison of value and extravagance, the (often ordered) budget item on the menu at this bakery, is hot chips.

Convenience of the above foods in the company of one or two associates or while on the road leeching some poor soul’s net wireless testing is all well and good, but has it’s limitations. With many attendees, serious business is undertaken, and serious business means Banko.

There are many requirements to partaking in a good Banko. Make sure you can find a decent, cheap, suburban Chinese restaurant that has a large banquet (hence the term Banko) listed on their take away menu. Keep Bankoing around until you find some good chow, and If at all possible, try to find a restaurant that home delivers – If not, try to convince them, they know it will be worth their while. The minimum for a decent Banko is generally four, but the bigger the crowd, the more interesting things get. If certain parties aren’t at all happy with a certain dish or have a special request, make them change it. Again, a submissive Chinese restaurant is a good Chinese restaurant. A fake name must always be used, preferably a mixture of all of your names or nicknames, the more unconventional the better. A well planned Banko can not only put all participants smartly into MSG-induced comas, but can also leave significant remains for round two later in the evening. Much much later.

Whether it’s a crepe and a pint of ale after a long day up a mast, or a stack and an iced coffee to fit the mood as the sun creeps over the horizon, late night wind-downs have never felt so good. You’re tired, you’re hungry, you’ve accomplished more wifi last night than the rest of the city has all year and you’re pretty happy about it too. That’s why you’re at the Pancake Kitchen. It couldn’t get much better even if it was physically possible to crawl up inside a blanket-sized flapjack and sleep for a week.

Last, and yes, definitely least, out comes fast food. Only two reasonable occasions to visit such establishments come to mind, both while deliriously tired. If you’re lucky, one of your company will have challenged another to an eating competition. Fourty nuggets, eleven cheeseburgers, five pizzas ... you get the drift. Just make sure you be a good sport and buy the challenger a dessert if they succeed.

The other option is far less exciting ... you’re just ravenously hungry and the time it takes to get food is proportional to the number of people you stab. Sometimes when you just can’t be fucked, West Terrace is indeed the Promised Land.

Without question these choices of cuisine are of no surprise, but rest assured, these decisions are based purely in logic and rational thought, without prejudice or pre-conditioning. This allows us to cross all forms of social and cultural boundaries and do what geeks do best – envisage something never before achieved and then go out and make it happen. As French gastronomer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.", he most certainly would’ve taken one look at us and said “Air-Stream” ...

Jimmy Day / LoC

10th November 2009

2009 Committee nominations - closed

Wednesday 25th November 2009 marks Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated 7th Annual General Meeting and consequently nominations for committee are now open. There are 8 positions available and so if you feel their is someone who you feel should be on committee now is a good time to put their name forward, and don't be shy to put your own name in.

Nominations close: 28th October 2009

Send your nominations to the Air-Stream committee by e-mail:

Please note: Any member may stand and/or nominate someone for committee, however you must be a current member of the association to vote, nominate or stand for election. Please also ensure your membership details are up-to-date and correct, as information will soon be sent in the mail or you may be also disqualified from a vote if your address is incorrect.

Members currently nominated for election at the 2009 AGM

Current committee members standing for re-election:
Chris Cichon
Daniel Moscon
Duncan McKenzie
Geoffrey Woodberry
Jeremy Lawson
Troy Vodopivec

Members Nominated for election
David Minchin, VK5KK
James Nobes

ASLAN Gaming Computer

Valued over $1000...

Valued over $1000 Dollars Every member attending the AGM will get one ticket free! There is a limit of 300 tickets only Special Deals: 2 tickets for $5 or 10 tickets for $20 Anyone can enter and tickets can be purchased before the night. Contact the Air-Stream committee for details

PROCESSOR	Intel Core 2 Duo E7400
MEMORY	Kingston Hyper-X 1066 (2x 2Gb Kit)
HARD DRIVE	WD 500Gb SATA II Hard Drive
OPTICAL DRIVE	Pioneer SATA DVD-R/W
MAINBOARD	Gigabyte EP45-UD3
VIDEO CARD	MSI 9800GT 512MB (N9800GT-T2D512)
MONITOR	LG Flatron W1942T 19" Wide Screen LCD
CHASSIS	Thermaltake Wing RS101
POWER SUPPLY	550W ATX V2.3 PSU
KEYBOARD/MOUSE	Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave
HEADSET	Logitech PC Headset 120

Air-Stream Wireless - Annual General Meeting 2010

This years AGM is on Wednesday 24th November. Yes it is that time again for all members and friends to come together to celebrate the successful completion of yet another fantastic year.

The AGM is more than an opportunity to thank our members and select new committee members it is also a time to review and celebrate what we have achieved together. As is tradition Air-Stream will be hosting an AGM BBQ before the meeting begins. So why not come along and bring a friend to the 2010 Air-Stream Wireless Annual General Meeting...

Where: Parkside Primary School.
When: Official Meeting begins at 7:30PM with BBQ from 6:00PM
Who: Members and guests
Building: Main Building - Library
Special door prize: Fantastic prizes to be won at this years AGM including WDTV Live! (See full list below)

Agenda

• Chairman's Address
• Member Awards Presentation - Contributions to the association
• Annual Reports - Financial, Membership
• Election of 2011 available committee positions
• Strategic planning for 2011

AGM $5 Raffle 2010 Prize List

• 1st Prize: WDTV Live Full-HD Media Player valued at $199 provided by Air-Stream Wireless
• 2nd Prize: $50 Bunnings Gift Card donated by Wifi Extreme
• 3rd Prize: Limited edition (only 10 ever made) "Because the Internet is not enough..." series Air-Stream coffee mug valued at $15
• 4th Prize: Christmas Lolly Jar donated by member shadey
• Special Last Prize: $Priceless Vintage Wireless Gear donated by member James

Parkside Primary School
12 Robsart Street, Parkside, South Australia

Located only 5 minutes South of the Adelaide CBD, by Bus or the entrance from Robsart Street at rear or Glen Osmond Road Eastwood. You can park on Robsart street or in the small car park if any are free. The meeting is held in either the room to the left or right when entering the car park.

View Larger Map

Next meeting is 26 January 2011, if you are a member or a local business and are interested in donating door prizes for meetings in 2011 please email the committee

Air-Stream Wireless - Annual General Meeting 2008

Yes it is that time again for all members and friends to come together to celebrate the successful completion of yet another fantastic year. The AGM is more than an opportunity to thank our members and vote in a new committee it is also a time to review and celebrate what we have achieved together. The last year has seen not only a record number of new members, but also increased coverage, new systems, bandwidth and participation. So why not come along and bring a friend to the 2008 Air-Stream Wireless AGM...

Where: Parkside Primary School.
When: Official Meeting began at 7:30PM
Who: Members and guests
Building: Main Building - Library
Food & Drink: BBQ Special
Special $5 door prize: Complete AP Router & Installation - valued over $1000!

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Special Guest Speaker - Vinny Bhagat
• Annual Reports - Chairperson, Network Plan and Treasurer
• Member Awards Presentation - Contributions to the association
• Voting new committee

Vinny Bhagat - Live feed link - www.shivnakaun.com

Annual General Meeting 2004

The Annual General Meeting 2004 was held on the 24th of November.

The elected members will be apart of the committee for 2005.

Troy Vodopivec took Chairman for another year after being the only person to nominate for the position. It certainly isnt an easy position and are glad he will continue his well established postition.

Also keeping his position is Jimmy Day who will be secretary for another year

Robert Hart joins the committee and becomes the treasurer.

Steve Fraser joins as a general committe member

Ben Steele is nominated and focuses on networking and website hosting.

Aaron McClimont joined as a general commitee member but stepped down due to other committments.

Dior Freeman takes Aarons place on 16th June 2005 at the committee meeting after being nominated by the current committee. All current committee members present voted unanimously to install Dior into the casual position of General Committee Member.

Current office bearers can be viewed here.

Annual General Meeting 2005

The 2005 Annual General Meeting was held at Parkside Primary School on the 30th of November.

Members voted on the night for the next years Committee. Eight positions were available; Chairman, Secratary, Treasurer and five general positions.

The nominations were:

• Troy Vodopivec
• Jimmy Day
• Robert Hart
• Dior Freeman
• Ben Steele
• Steve Fraser
• Jacqui Deering
• Duncan McKenzie
• Brian Sewart

The People voted were:

• Troy Vodopivec
• Jimmy Day
• Robert Hart
• Dior Freeman
• Ben Steele
• Steve Fraser
• Jacqui Deering
• Duncan McKenzie

Congratulations to the current committee who will take part in another year and welcome abord two more members.

Annual General Meeting 2006

Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated still remains one of Australia's most active and largest community wireless groups demonstrating a marked increase in new members and new AP Nodes sprouting up around Adelaide.

There was a good turn-out by members for the 2006 AGM and the meeting was a very a relaxed and enjoyable evening.
It was a warm pleasant summer evening, perfect weather for a BBQ and there was plenty of discussion about how well the network is progressing. There was a working display demonstrating the level of analogue activity that also uses the 2.4Ghz Band, and a number people brought along the new Parabolic Grid and Collinear Antennas that where recently purchased.

Meeting Open - Troy Vodopivec, Chairperson.

• Annual reports presented to the members for review and discussion.
• Troy gave a brief talk about progress made over 2005-2006 and recognised the continued growth that continues this year.

Special Member Award Presentations.

• Jacqui Deering – Awarded life membership for service to the Committee and the Association.
• Chris Cichon - Awarded life membership for service to the Association.
• Dior Freeman - Awarded life membership for service to the Committee and the Association.
• Duncan McKenzie - Awarded life membership for service to the Committee and the Association.

Minutes of the previous meeting presented by Dior Freeman, Secretary.

• The minutes where unanimously accepted by a show of hands.

Financial Reports where presented by Robert Hart, Treasurer.

• The annual reports where unanimously accepted by members by a show of hands.

The Committee was voted by ballot and tallied by Paul Schulz and Dior Freeman.

The New Committee for 2006 are:

• Chris Cichon
• Duncan McKenzie
• Jacqui Deering
• Kim Hawtin
• Paul Ridley
• Robert Hart
• Ryan Roberts
• Troy Vodopivec

Annual General Meeting 2007

Sunday 28th October marked Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated 5th Annual General Meeting which members where invited to attend and enjoy a great night out.

WIA SA Audio Broadcast 21st October 2007 - airs2110.mp3 (1.8Mb) - Download here

Where: Parkside Primary School.
When: Official Meeting Begins 7:30PM
Who: Members and guests are always welcome.
Food & Drinks:BBQ begins 4:30pm (Soft drinks only).
Building: Main Building - Library.
$2 coin door prize: Complete Waterproof AS Flashed Meraki and Dish.
On Display: Wireless Access, Equipment and 802.11n demonstration.

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Annual Reports - Chairperson and Treasurer
• Member Awards Presentation - Contributions to the association
• Voting new committee

Please Note: Our next regular monthly members meeting will be held on the 28th November 2007.

2007 had been one of our best ever with exciting new projects completed, new members and new relationships formed including:

• The formation of ASLAN a new fun gaming event and fund raiser.
• Partnership with the Elizabeth Amateur Radio Club which has pushed the network into the North.
• Partnership with the South Cost Amateur Radio Club which has pushed the network to the South.
• UniSA and the City of Salisbury who supported the Mawson Centre AP and other exciting opportunities.
• Expanding wireless communities with other groups like a SouthernWifi.
• And many new projects and partnerships to come….

Adelaide now boasts the largest Community Network in Australia covering many hundreds of square kilometres. It is truly amazing what we can achieve when a group of people in the community cooperate and pool resources.

Although the Annual General Meeting is an official member meeting anyone can attend so please bring your friends, as this is also a great opportunity to celebrate what we have achieved together.

You must be a current member to stand for election to the committee, nominate or vote at the meeting, so please ensure your membership is up to date if you would like to have a say.

Please feel free to contact the committee if you have any questions.

Minutes of the 2007 AGM

Where: Parkside Primary School.
When: Official Meeting began at 7:30PM
Who: Members and guests
Building: Main Building - Library
$2 coin door prize: Complete Waterproof AS Flashed Meraki and Dish.
On Display: Wireless Access, Equipment and 802.11n demonstration.

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Annual Reports - Chairperson and Treasurer
• Member Awards Presentation - Contributions to the association
• Voting new committee

Although Air-Stream Wireless has had a record increase in membership this year, due to strong winds and rain, attendance at the 2007 AGM was a little down on previous years. Nevertheless, there was a reasonable number of members and guests and for those who did brave the weather enjoyed a great evening with friends.

Our thanks go to Kim Hawtin who despite the weather put on an excellent BBQ offering a great range of sausages, steak sandwiches and onions.

The demonstration of the 802.11n Equipment had a unplanned change as it turned out. Unfortunately, because the signal from the Parkside AP wasn’t the best into the library where the event was held. The signal needed to pass through a corrugated iron roof and three 100 year old thick double brick walls.

Fortunately the two WN5000R 802.11n wireless routers showed there worth as they where used to successful bridge the Parkside router to another AP within the Library. Although by no means a high speed link it did demonstrate the ability of 802.11n to overcome NLOS environments compared with conventional 802.11b. This was quite an impressive feat as no special adjustments, modification or antennas where made, only the stock standard units as they come out of the box.

Nevertheless, there was still the usual plethora of wireless and computer equipment on display including sideshow presentations over two high resolution projectors, giving plenty of room for discussion and exchanges of ideas.

The meeting was opened by Troy Vodopivec, Chairperson at 7:30pm

The business end

• Annual reports presented to the members for review and discussion.
• Troy gave a talk about the significant progress and new partnerships formed over 2006-2007
• The Financial Reports for 2007 was presented by Paul Ridley, Treasurer.
• The Minutes of the previous meeting 2006 was presented by Robert Hart, Secretary.

Financial reports for 2007 and minutes of the previous meeting where unanimously accepted by a show of hands.

Member appreciation awards
Award Certificates where presented to the following members in recognition of their support and participation which also included the award of one years free membership to the association:

• Chris Ford
• Damien Dreimanis
• Paul Riddley
• Paul Schulz
• Shawn Zeppel

Election 2007
The new committee where voted by ballot which was tallied by Paul Schulz these where :

• Troy Vodopivec
• Robert Hart
• Paul Ridley
• Chris Cichon
• Daniel Moscon
• Duncan McKenzie
• Kim Hawton
• Dior Freeman - New committee member, replacing Jaqui Deering.

Thank you to the other members who where nominated.

• Shawn Zeppel; and
• Jaqui Deering.

Special thanks to Jaqui for her time and commitment when on the committee.

Door prize!
The lucky door prize of a complete wireless client kit, was won by Joel Stanley who was a guest and only became a member that night.

The door prize included: :

• Meraki Mini which was pre-flashed with OpenWRT and configured to connect into the AS network
• Hill’s 25dbi Parabolic Dish Antenna
• Waterproof enclosure complete with mast brackets, Reverse-SMA to N-Bulkhead Pigtail and Stainless Steel cable-gland for Ethernet.

The meeting was closed at 9pm.

Meeting minutes where prepared by Robert Hart, Committee, Secretary.

January members meeting pics

Before

and after

Go West

With the network growing rapidly to the North and soon the South we are starting to see the West beginning to blossom with activity. The West is one of the hardest areas in Adelaide to establish a wireless network but when people work together it is amazing what only a few people can achieve if they work together.

If you have a roof with views in the Western Suburbs and haven’t yet thought of joining the wireless community movement now has never been a better time…

Grange Sailing Club

Information

Installation is being planned for the future.

Line of Sight

download medium size image (545KB)

This panorama includes from left (north) to right (south):
Grange Jetty
Grange Road and Seaview Road
Central Bussiness District (in the distance)
Mount Lofty (in the distance)
Appartments next door
Henley Beach front

Satelite Image

34°54'28.42"S 138°29'25.76"E

Site Survey

Survey was done with a 200mw Senao PCMCIA card with a short pigtail and a 19db pacmon.

Survey shows links to Seaton, Glen Osmand and Skye are possible.
Grange did not show up during the survey.

20051203173342_gsc_19db_pacmon_v.ns1 In vertical.
20051203173342_gsc_19db_pacmon_h.ns1 In horizontal.

Survey done: 3-12-2005

Heading South

Plans are now underway to expand coverage in the South beginning 2009 and your help is needed. Air-Stream Wireless is now the largest community wireless network in Australia and covers hundreds of square kilometers from North to South. Consequently, with the success of the 2008 Go West Plan mostly complete, the Network Planning Committee (NPC) are turning their attention to the South for 2009. The NPC have begun by working with the South Coast Amateur Radio Club (SCARC) to help interconnect Two-Way radio repeaters and packet radio systems into the Air-Stream Network to use systems like IRLP and the Echolink Amateur Radio Network. There are three main sites currently targeted for work, the first O'Halloran Hill which will have a major upgrade. Hackham West (SCARC Club House) and Mt Terrible (SCARC Repeater). Also there will be a number of other sites of SCARC members yet to be site surveyed and other links into the SouthernWifi network yet to be agreed and planned. Nevertheless, the Air-Stream Wireless network would not have the size and coverage it has today without members, and for this new plan to be successful we also need membership and others to participate meaningfully. Please contact the committee to find out how you can help, even one extra person can make a real difference. Members may view in detail and add potential nodes for the South through the members node database and mapping system..

Kingston Park

Site Located at Kingston Park

25db Backbone to Glenelg AP

Serving Clients via a 8db Superpass (vertical polarisation)

Tested OK from brighton beach ~4km
300k/s 7db magmount with senao 100 leeching off of the omni.

Current Setup the 25db is only reaching the very edge of the WG as it is pointing due east, and Kingston Park is directly south.
only getting a max of about 50k/s each way.

With glenelg upgrade soon this should increase bandwith.

Largs Bay

My 1st attempt at a communal wireless connection has / is up and working.

I have hooked up my father and a mate to my home network and the Internet
All via two (2) WAP54G's to my WRT54G.

My mates WAP54g is sitting on his computer desk in his house.

My WRT54G is mounted into a weather-proof box mounted to the inside side of the houses chimney facing the roof. (not inside the chimney). Having it set on diversity I have two (2) six foot (6')N -RPTNC LMR400 cables going to:-
a. home made Cantenna
b. 19dbi Conifer.

My fathers WAP54G is mounted inside his roof space in the same weather -proof box as mine is with a ten foot (10') N -RPTNC LMR400 cable. Connecting him to a 9dbi Omni.

Both weather-proof boxes have been equiped with PoE units from Linksys (PoE 12's)

I hope to add some pictures shortly, as it doesnt sound as good with out them.

Northfield

Current Site Status:
Partly Operational

Work Scheduled:
Aprill 2006

Project Details:

• A new 802.11a dedicated backbone for Elizabeth Tower
• A new 802.11a dedicated backbone for Vally View
• A new 802.11a dedicated backbone for Ottoway
• Install new 802.11b for main AP

People scheduled:

• Robert
• Paul
• Arno
• Troy
• Chris
• Didz

Equipment required:

• 2 x New Wrap 2 with POE
• 3 x 5Ghz Dipoles
• 1 x 5ghz stumble rig
• Tools

Dependencies:

• Ticketed Climber - Paul

Ottoway

Current Site Status:
Site currently down

Work Scheduled:
September 2006

Project Details:

• 802.11a dedicated backbone to Pasadena
• 802.11a dedicated backbone to Northfield
• 802.11b dedicated backbone to Ridleyton
• 802.11b high power Access Point

People scheduled:

• Ben Burrows
• Brian
• Robert
• Chris
• Didz

Equipment required:

• Security Monitoring System
• 3 x CM9 and 1 x SR2
• 2 x 5.8Ghz Antenna or dipole

Dependencies:

• ?

SAPUG

Current Site Status:
Site currently down

Work Scheduled:
May 2006

Project Details:

• 802.11b dedicated backbone to Carrick Hill
• 802.11b Access Point

People scheduled:

• Steve
• Troy
• Robert

Equipment required:

• Security Monitoring System
• 2 x ethernet APs

Dependencies:

• ?

Air-Stream-APANA

The Australian Public Access Network Association SA (APANA) Node on North Terrace was upgraded on 3rd February 2007. This was one of the first sites in the Air-Stream network to deploy a WRAP 1-1 embedded wireless router three years ago and has been running with good success ever since that time. See: old set-up

Click here for high res image (818 KB)

During the last few years we have been upgrading backbones on the core network to 802.11a with great success and after some planning the equipment was put together for an upgrade on this site funded by Air-Stream Wireless members. As seen in the stitched image above the site has good LOS from the North West around to the North East of Adelaide CBD. Access is possible from the ground along North Terrace, Adelaide Uni, the SA Museum and surrounding public areas.

The site deploys two WRAP 2 board (128MB) seen above which have been housed in customised metal water-proof enclosures. The larger enclosure includes a 5 port 100base switch which has been modified with a switch mode regulator to down-convert the 18V DC injected over the Ethernet cable from the basement some 60 metres below.

Due to the long cable run there is a 2V drop and now there are two routers we have upgraded the POE system to a 18 Volt DC 120Watt power supply. The system is short circuit protected and incorporates a LPT control PCB to allow a power cycled of the WRAP units above via the Internet or from the alternate router, if in the rare case of system lock-up.

Note: The waveguide above has been replaced with a 8dbi Superpass Omni

The site now provides not only better coverage because of high speed backbones to Highgate Park and Walkerville but also deploys two high power APs with better driver support under Air-Stream's customized router OS.

Access Point:
North Sector Horizontal Polarization - ssid: Air-Stream-APANA-H
Omni Vertical Polarisation - ssid: Air-Stream-APANA-V

Backbones:
Air-Stream-Walkerville - 5.8Ghz
Air-Stream-Julia-Farr - 5.8Ghz
Air-Stream-Ridleyton
Air-Stream-Woodville-West

North Terrace APANA

This Access Point is located on North Terrace in Adelaide CBD, the image below is a line of site 150 Degrees from North West to North East.

The site was made possible by the Australian Public Access Network Association Inc. a non-profit organisation for individuals who are interested in learning computer networking skills in a friendly hobby environment. http://adelaide.apana.org.au/ or via radio

APANA is located in the Basement of the Building 60 metre below where our Air-Stream router equipment is installed. A low voltage isolated 20VAC 20W supply is feed over an ethernet cable providing good safety. While ensuring suitable power is available to both supply telemetry and UPS systems. An ethernet connection is also available and provides a direct connection between the Air-Stream Network and APANA.

The Router is designed around the SMC 260Mhz embedded CPU PCB, with onboard Flash Card more details at http://www.pcengines.ch/wrap.htm . Which offers spaces for two mini pci slots where I have installed two senao Prims2 100mW cards, leaving two ethernet ports for a Backbone AP and the APANA connction.

This small and low power unit has allowed the installation of both the main board and the UPS system inside a waterproof housing. Creating an opportunity to place the equipment directly where the Antennas are, reducing the amount of cabling and improving signal performance as short coax runs can be deployed.

The Senao 100mW cards run in AP mode under Open BSD and are used for the main Access Points at the site.

The image on the left is the Router and two wave guides. One faces North West the other North East, providing full coverage to the North. The image just to the right is the main backbone. The Dish is 25db and is pointed south to Julia Farr. The backbone uses a Minitar AP in client mode and is connected to the router via an POE cable.

Air-Stream-Athelstone (mk I)

Another new site has been setup at Athelstone and is now operational.

Athelstone uses two Mitsubishi R100 units.
One is configured for an accesspoint with a high powered radio and a 9dbi Collinear Omni in Vertical Polarisation. The other R100 unit configured as a backbone to Valley-View in 802.11a.

Thankyou to the volunteers who gave much of their time to assist in getting this access point fully operational. The site is managed by Shadey and additional backbones are being considered for the future.

Pictures from the first install

The professional power supply

The professional waterproof box

The professional human GPS

Bribe..I mean feed..the workers

Starting to come together

mmmmm guy wire fun

More guy wire fun. The bottom of the mast is attached with a U-bolt to a hills tin roof mount, which is bolted through top rafters of the shed

Turnbuckle ready to be tightened, but not for the last time..

After all that.. "No Scan Results" on 802.11a. Luckily the omni antenna could be used as a temporary Air-Stream connection.

Install Part 2

It turned out that the modified (for 5.8 GHz) grid antenna was useless, I guess we should have tested it properly before putting it into production. Anyway the grid was replaced with a brand new hills 5-5.8 GHz grid, unfortunately there are no pictures from that "install" because it was done at 11pm at night by two people. In any case it would be a bit hard to take photos when both hands and head are being used to hold up a mast in gully winds. Special thanks to DrGeforce for coming out on that crazy night.

Install Part 3

However that was not to be the last part of the story. In the hastiness and darkness of that night a guy wire somehow got snagged around the top of the guy plate. It would not come loose without pulling the whole thing down again, even though there was now a stable 5.8 GHz wireless connection, the mast guying needed to be fixed. Thanks to more volunteers this was taken care of on another occasion, in about 30 minutes. A second set of guy wires is now attached and the rig is solid. The most recent picture can be seen on the top of this page.

Air-Stream-Pasadena

Pasadena will be having its first major upgrade in a series of stages which will increase the performance of the access point.

In the first stage the old router will be replaced. This it self should stop the unexpected downtimes.

Installed will be:

2 x Senao MiniPCI cards
- One for the Ottoway backbone

- One for the omni for clients to connect to.

2 x Mini-PCI 802.11a/b/g wireless card
- One for Melrose backbone
- One for Julia Farr backbone.

In the future this will allow a 802.11a wireless link.

This will be housed in a mini-PCI cradle

The benefits are:
New router
No more crashing of the router and hardware conflicts (time will tell ;).

802.11a ready
Once Julia Farr is 802.11a ready all that is needed is to change the antennas and set the mini PCI to use the 802.11a standard.

Increased throughputs
802.11a is faster and doesn’t overlap each other. Also 802.11b will be freed up.

Air-Stream-Ridleyton

Ridleyton is a core access point of the Air-Stream network with a backbone to Ottoway. over the years it has had many connections to other places.

The worst thing thats ever happened to Air-Stream was when the pole, antennas, and access points were stolen from the roof of the site in mid 2005. Within a few months the site had been restored thanks to the generosity of members to get this up and running as quick as possible.

For information on connecting to this access point please contact the Committee

Images

Images by Didz

This is the Router.

Constant cool air flow passes though the plant room, the router has no heat problems.

Above is the mast.

13-09-2003

13/09/03

In this upgrade a link to Carrick Hill was made.

Quoted by Sebby from http://www.sebbynet.net/wan/news/archive.htm

I had a quick visit at the end of today to see how the installation of the 6m mast at Air-Stream-Ridleyton Node had progressed. The guys were finishing off attaching a parabolic antenna and raising the mast when I arrived.

23-08-2003

23/08/03
This was the very fisrt installation of ridleyton

Quoted by Sebby from http://www.sebbynet.net/wan/news/archive.htm

Today I had the opportunity to meet up with some of the South Australian Air-Stream wireless members to work on the Air-Stream-Ridleyton Node. I provided some wireless gear (Orinoco PCMCIA card, connectors, pigtail, etc...) which was required to mount a second parabolic antenna at Air-Stream-Ridleyton Node which was planed to be used as a second backbone link to the Air-Stream-Skye Node. It was great to finally meet up and have a good look at the workings of another node. Unfortunately the weather was appalling throughout the day and hampered our efforts, hence the job remained uncompleted and left the Air-Stream-Ridleyton Node off-line

Images by Sebby

4-12-2005

Information

During this day a second mast was installed with a Hills 25db dish to link to Ottoway, The original pole and Hills 25db dish was aligned link to APANA NW. While aligned correctly the dish can pick up Air-Stream-Glen-Osmond slightly better.

The buildings next door had been pulled down so this gave a rare opportunity to have a view of areas never seen beofre from the Ridleyton site.

Stumber Logs

Ridleyton stumbler logs 4-12-05.rar

All scans were done with a Senao 802.11b 200mw PCMICA wireless card provided by Didz.

5 files are included:
20051204141516 Ridleyton 19db pacmon 360 V.ns1
20051204142316 Ridleyton 19db pacmon 360 H.ns1
20051204145939 Ridleyton omni V.ns1
20051204151839 Ridleyton align to Ottoway H.ns1
20051204154748 Ridleyton align to APANA NW and Glen Osmond H.ns1

Images

Getting ready to install the second mast.

Robert mounting the Hills 25db dish.

Attached guy wires and tightning everything up.

The team who made this day possible; Betsuin, Didz, Sam S, Robert and Samiam.

10.121.0.0/27 AP Range

10.104.0.0/27 Client subnet
10.104.2.32/27 Client subnet
10.104.0.32/27 Client subnet
10.104.0.224/28 Client subnet

10.125.0.8/30 Ottoway Backbone
10.125.128.24/30 APANA Backbone

Southern WiFi Network

Southern Wifi is no longer operating

Air-Stream Wireless and Southern WiFi are two community wireless groups in South Australia who have been working to promote the potential of Community Wireless Networks for over six years.

Recently these networks expanded with a successful link over O’Halloran Hill allowing the two networks to join. Together they now form the largest non-profit community owned and operated network in Australia. The network now spans 60kms from Noarlunga to Angle Vale in the north and across this area are numerous Access Points providing coverage over hundreds of square kilometres.

Community Wireless Networks have become more than just a hobby lead interest group they are apart of a world wide phenomena of Open Access Networks in thousands of local settings around the world.

They are groups of community minded individuals who are using the power of wireless in combination with free and open source software (FOSS) to deploy broadband network technologies that facilitates community participation, local content and communications.

If a hand full of people can build and maintain a broadband network that covers many hundreds of square kilometres how much more could it achieve with broader community involvement and support from public and private organisations.

South West Upgrade Plans - 2008

Current plans for upgrades in the South and Western Suburbs over the next two months for 2008 are as follows. In the map to the right, the orange lines indicate upgraded or new backbones and yellow circles indicate new or upgraded APs with improved coverage.

• New Router Node at Fulham Gardens
• Two new AP and antenna upgrades at Carrick Hill (better LOS)
• New Skye to Highgate 802.11a Backbone replacing APANA
• New Highgate to Fulham Gardens 802.11a Backbone
• Upgraded Highgate to VK5TTY (OHalloran Hill) 802.11a Backbone
• New Fulham Gardens to VK5TTY (OHalloran Hill) 802.11a Backbone
• New Fulham Gardens to Seaton 802.11b backbone
• New Melrose Park to Carrick Hill 802.11b backbone
• New Superpass Omin at Melrose Park
• Two new AP upgrades at Highgate Park East and West
• New Superpass Omin at VK5TTY (OHalloran Hill)

Stage 1 - Complete

Stage 1 of the Go West plan is complete in preparation for the new site at Fulhum Gardens and the new upgrade at Carrick Hill.

Consequently Highgate Park was upgraded to support two new backbones, one to link to the new site at Fulhum Gardens and the other for the Carrick Hill.

This has meant that the old Senao APs where removed and replaced with a shiny new 500Mhz PC Engines Alix Board.

Also the West waveguide was also taken down and replaced with 5.8Ghz dish which was aligned to Fulham Gardens.

Stage 2 - Complete

Stage 2 of the Go West plan is complete in preparation for the new sites in the west and the and upgrade at Melrose Park.

For Hi-Res 180 LOS Image 902.28 KB Click Here...

Great care has been taken to ensure this installation has minimum visual impact to this important heritage building.

The new upgrade has given new life into the Carrick Hill site, by not only offering better LOS for the Antennas as seen above, but also new equipment.

The older equipment was removed, which comprised of 500Mhz VIA Router, Minitar APs and some high gain slotted waveguides.

This was all replaced with a new PoE system including the FreeBSD latest Air-Stream Router System, Atheros based wireless cards and supported on the newest 500Mhz PC Engines Alix Boards. Along with the high performance Superpass antennas located with better LOS

This installation was made possible through the generosity of the Management of Carrick Hill for providing the site and power for this project and the members of Air-Steam who have given their time and commitment.

Stage 3 - Complete

An upgrade was successfully completed at Melrose Park on Sunday 2nd March 2008. The upgrade includes a new Omni antenna and the addition of a dedicated backbone to Carrick Hill. The upgrade will improve redundancy for Melrose Park, Carrick Hill and Pasadena, further improving access to the network in the area. Many thanks to Jeremy and Chris for the help.

Stage 4 - Fulham Gardens

Stage 4 of the "Go West Plan" has begun with work completed on the new Fulham Gardens site. This will not only help strengthen coverage across the Western Suburbs, but this and other sites like Torrensville, will help increase bandwidth and redundancy to the establishment of even more new sites in the West. More information soon...

Air-Stream-Carrick-Hill Lives

Carrick Hill is one of Adelaide's most famous period homes, but what many people are unaware, is it also hosts a Node in one of Australia's largest Community Wireless Networks. With a recent upgrade it now hosts the latest in Community Wireless technology and the end result is unprecedented coverage across the South Western suburbs of Adelaide, while at the same time having no visual impact on this beautiful heritage building. More about the upgrade

EARC

The Elizabeth Amateur Radio Club (EARC) call sign VK5LZ has there main repeater and club located at a Water Tower in Elizabeth. Work has now begun to help the club to install a Router and three 802.11b APs with Waveguides to the North, East and South. It is is also hoped to established high speed 802.11a Backbones to Northfeild, Uleybury and Para Hills.

See Club Details: Elizabeth Amateur Radio Club

The Mawson Centre

Approval has been granted, and plans are now underway to install a new Air-Stream node in the Mawson Lakes area. This has been made possible through the generosity and support of UniSA and The Mawson Centre.

The Mawson Centre will become a core Air-Stream Node and will not only increase our networks capacity but also offer a great opportunity to demonstrate new systems providing easy access to local information and tools that allow anyone in and around the area to create temporary and permanent communities in the public spaces.

Air-Stream Melrose Update - 6/1/2006

The Melrose Router was upgraded today with the new Troy OpenBSD router distro and the Omni 200mW Senao dual cards where replaced with a new 400mW SR2 Card.

It apears that the router started having issues with four interfaces when the new backbone to Ben was added causing a buffer overflow issues on the motherboard and by replacing the dual cards with one PCI card for the SR2 the site seems to be running at optimum levels again.

However this means the spare sector AP is no-longer available to the West, fortunatlly there has not been domand for this AP to-date.

Last Weekend the dish to Pasadena was re-align and is currently passing obout 28Mbps.

Mt Barker Update

Movement is a foot in the Mt Barker region with a new run of activity. Due to some equipment becoming available after a number of successful upgrades in the metropolitan network and so surplus equipment has been made available to the Mt Barker team to help give their project boost along. Hopefully over the coming weeks we should see a few Air-Stream SSIDs popping up around Mt Barker area, and if you would like to help please contact Kim Hawtin (adhoc) to be apart of this exciting Community Wireless Network initiative.

Mt Barkers First Node

Plans are afoot to start building an community wireless network from scratch across the Mt Barker area beginning with a free community hotspot located near the town’s center sponsored by Darren Roebuck of Adelaide Hills Electronics.

Currently, members are needed to volunteer their time to help get this exciting new project off to a good start and it is hoped you will offer some good advice, ideas and discussion on how to both drum up local support and ways to expand the network.

Although, it may be impractical to link the network back to the larger metropolitan network in the short/medium-term, it does offer an excellent opportunity to develop a working model of community wireless networks in small communities.

Skye 3 Installation

Skye 3 Mast

Measure and cut galvinized tubing and angles.

Mark out holes and where tubing will be welded

Drilll and linish off burs

Mig-Weld tubbing to angles

Hammer in end caps into unused tube openings

Although these end caps are not required it looks allot nicer

Finish mast brackets, the welds and makes will be painted with zinc paint, to prevent rust.

Each mast pole will be attached to the wall by two of these brackets

How they may look when attached to a wall.

OHalloran Hill Installation - Stage 1

Due to access restrictions at TAFE SA this was the first time we have actually been on-site to see where the equipment would be installed. Nevertheless a good result given the limited time we had and everything was done without any real measurements.

The main mast could not be taken down as planed as all the guy-wire turnbuckles where corroded and consequently run a high risk of damage if they where removed.

More time will be planned to replace these and over-haul of the mast. Consequently as the mast could not be lower the waveguides where placed at ladder height 5 metres up the mast as a temporary measure seen here. Nevertheless this is offering time to review and test the current setup and explore new backhaul nodes in the network.

Unfortunately we identified a few LOS issues with a group of trees which block the North East and so there is a real need to raise the waveguides if the Highgate Park link is to be improved. A link is established, which is poor and although this maybe improved with a larger dish at Highgate Park, it would seem that other backhaul nodes need to be identified.

Nevertheless there are very good views from the South East around the South West and some good connectivity for the Southern Suburbs should be a breeze.

There was some views to the North towards the Western suburbs of Adelaide just standing on the roof of the building. Consequently it looks like it will be quite feasible to install fixed dishes at ladder height to establish 802.11a links to the South and Wester suburbs of Adelaide at a latter stage once these backhaul nodes are finalised. The current setup should make this easy as it will allow site surveys from a number of locations possible.

10 metres below the router is installed on the top shelf along slide the South Coast Amateur Radio Club Inc packet radio equipment and server. The rack is well ventilated, with UPS and allows for upgrades of wireless nics at a latter stage.

I would really like to thank the many people who through their patience and support have made this project possible.

We would particularly like to thank everyone the South Coast Amateur Radio Club Inc who have made this project possible and for hosting the site at the TAFE.

Aslo special thanks to:
Paul Hofman, for climbing the mast and taking the brunt of our childish jokes.
Chris F. for donating two wave guides to Air-Stream
Dior (Didz) for donating a PC to Air-Stream used as the server
Chris (drgeforce3) for creating an image and configuring AS Router OS for O'Halloran Hill
Troy (hat) for developing the AS Router OS, helping out on-sit and finalizing configurations.

SPLAT! - Line of sight (LOS) O’Halloran Hill

SPLAT! is an RF Signal Propagation, Loss, And Terrain analysis tool for the spectrum between 20 MHz and 20 GHz. It provides site engineering data such as the great circle distances and bearings between sites, antenna elevation angles (uptilt), depression angles (downtilt), antenna height above mean sea level, antenna height above average terrain, bearings and distances to known obstructions, path loss based on the Longley-Rice Irregular Terrain Model, and minimum antenna height requirements needed to establish line-of-sight communication paths absent of obstructions due to terrain.

Below is the predicted LOS for OHalloran Hill, it assumes both up and down tilt and no signal path loss, only path obstruction.

Below is the predicted signal path losses between OHalloran Hill and Highgate Park (Julia Farr)

The Antennas at O'Halloran Hill and constuction of brakets

The Mast where the wave guides are to be mounted

Thinking and working out how to make brakets.

Trying to see how it might look and finalise design.

Measuring it all out

Cutting up the components

Working out what kind of down tilt is required

Marking out mounting holes

Drilled holes in the components

Measuring out how to weld components

Welded components

Checking final welds and making adjustments

Rust proofing and painting braket

Backet attached to Wave Guide

Finished Bracket and Wave Guide side view

Finished Bracket and Wave Guide top view

Signal pattern from Wave Guide and why a down tilt is required in high locations, like O'Halloran Hill.

Although the Horizontal pattern is quite wide the Vertical pattern makes the signal quite flat and without a slight down tilt almost half of the radio energy may pass over the top of most users.

Open Networks- Paul Budde - DEI Working Group - 28th October 2008

Unlocking economic growth potential

The main reason for the present debate around the concept of open telecommunications networks is that the current ‘closed’ networks are perceived to be the natural state of affairs. It is time we broke away from this mindset, which stems mainly from the technological limitations that existed in the past.

Open networks are the next step in the evolution of telecoms infrastructure as it gives users full control of the services and applications that can be made available over high-speed broadband infrastructure. Open networks also means a democratisation of the telecoms infrastructure. Most of the current limitations (bundled products and services, portals, high access charges) are artificial because of the vertically-integrated nature of the closed network operators; they prefer to control absolutely everything related to their networks – even end-user devices were, until recently, under their total control. Open networks will give the control back to the users.

Compare telecoms to electricity infrastructure, the utilities don’t have any say about what devices users connect to, or what services they use. Why couldn’t this also be the natural order of telecommunications infrastructure?

As we have said many times, open networks don’t mean that anarchy will reign, or that the valuable national infrastructure will be raided by rogue operators. This is what some of the incumbents would like us to believe. Electricity is not free – nor are hospitals, schools, roads, airports, etc – still we have figured out the financial structures necessary for those types of infrastructure, some private, some public and many hybrid in nature.

Again, despite what incumbent let us believe all forms of national infrastructure involves regulation and governance. If there was still doubt about this, the financial crisis is teaching us all a lesson here.

Why open networks?

Open networks in telecoms are more of a concept than a well-defined set of technologies or regulations.

The aim should be to provide a universal communications service, the parameters for which will need to be set according to what is to be delivered over the infrastructure.

For example, as a national asset it should be used to enable basic video monitoring services for medical purposes – services that should be made available to everyone, independent of Internet or telephone access (e.g. totally unbundled). Obviously the quality and the nature of such services would need to be debated, policy makers can certainly set the broad parameters for such services but politicians should never pick technologies. The conditions should be technology-neutral and it should be left to the infrastructure providers to ensure that whatever they build is able to deliver the basic e-health services as described by the policy makers. Similar policy parameters can be set for tele-education, smart grids, basic video entertainment, etc.

The topology and the architecture of the open network should be such that infrastructure, service and content providers all can also offer higher quality and different ‘premium’ products and services. Similar structures exist elsewhere – public health and private health, public education and private education, public and private transport, public roads and tollways, and so on. While this might stir up the net neutrality debate, it must be clear that the basic national high-speed broadband service should be defined at such levels as to provide sufficient quality to satisfy the people who are using it. This will also change over time – as with other public services, what was seen as a good service ten years ago will require a review every so often to make sure it still meets the expectations of the users.

Interconnected networks

Existing networks from telcos, utilities and others could be interconnected to form the core of an open network structure – this should be considered partly because this is a far more efficient way of looking at utilising these assets and partly because it leads to a healthy mixture of public and private assets forming part of the national infrastructure.

Once the basis for open networks is in place BuddeComm is convinced that commercial structures will be built without too much regulatory interference. While it may appear a daunting prospect at the beginning (particularly as the incumbent telcos will try to block any open network developments) things will start looking up once the reality of open networks is accepted, and opponents will recognise the new business opportunities that will arise from that point. Good examples here are now starting to emerge in Europe.

Less regulations required

After the initial regulations have been set up for the establishment of open networks, we should step back and identify the bottlenecks and where infrastructure is missing or upgrades are needed that will not take place without government funding.

With the vertical business structure gone infrastructure operators will become far more prepared to cooperate and investigate how to interconnect with other infrastructure, rather than to continue with the ‘overbuild-at-all-costs’ scenarios they indulge in under the vertically-integrated model. Vertical-integrated networks are approx 30% more expensive to develop and to run as open networks. Obviously this infrastructure will require good governance, both on a regulatory and a technical level. By removing the economically unviable competition elements from at least the basic national infrastructure we should be able to get really good cooperation between the infrastructure players’. This allows for their key engineers to take a more independent role and as such they should be able to govern the technology, security, reliability, provisioning, IPv6, investments, etc.

Open networks require significantly less public funding

Only infrastructure projects that are not economically feasible will need government funding, and it is amazing how little funding is actually needed once the vertical structures in the industry are dismantled.

Around the world there is an increasing consensus on the social and economic benefits of high-speed broadband infrastructure, and this allows governments to step in and fund the gaps. A cleverly designed national network can lead to a much better, faster and more efficient network than those built by individual telcos. (Please note the stress on ‘clever’. Networks are rarely well-designed when the goal is to protect an infrastructure monopoly.)

Will Open Networks lead to a telecoms Nirvana?

While true open networks would be the ideal outcome, it won’t solve all of our problems. But, then, do we have an ideal healthcare, education, public transport system, etc? This is the nature of national assets. But with a good interconnection between public and private, which the technology can now make possible, we can come up with a very good result. It won’t be easy, but we have so many good technologies, applications and ongoing innovations that we should be able to build incredibly good infrastructure – that is, if we all set our mind to it and move in the same direction, and with the incumbent monopolies that is not yet always the case.

How is it done in other infrastructure industries?

From a users’ point of view we can take a lead from the electricity infrastructure. What, in the end, matters is that users have total control over the end-user devices, and that their user experiences take place around these devices, and not the infrastructure or the basic electricity supply. Only when the supply falters will users worry about the infrastructure.

In the case of broadband the trouble is that the infrastructure is so poor in so many places that it is the only issue that is debated. Obviously a better environment is needed – one that places less end-user focus on the infrastructure itself, users should be able to concentrate their attention on the applications that can be used over it.

To return to the comparison above, there are very few end-user issues around supply in the electricity industry. From their experience perspective supply is unlimited (we are obviously not addressing issues such as climate change here – we have made separate analyses for those developments).

The same applies to costs. In general everyone can afford electricity, and there are systems in place for people who can’t.

If smart grids were to be added into the mix, distributed energy would become part of the electricity infrastructure; end-user solar panels, electrical cars and wind turbines will be interconnected into the one national/state infrastructure system.

In telecoms we are already seeing that some people want to have there own (dark fibre) connection and they may be prepared to install this themselves. Examples include projects such as Fibre-to-the Farm in the Netherlands, DIY fibre in Stavanger Norway and muni-networks should be looked at from that perspective. Mesh networks in wireless broadband are even going a step further and make end-users active infrastructure providers.

So there is no need to reinvent the wheel – there are plenty of issues that are unique to telecoms but we can also learn from other infrastructure how best to create open networks in telecoms.

Paul Budde
Communication Pty. Ltd.
5385 George Downes Drive
Bucketty NSW 2250 Australia

http://www.budde.com.au
http://www.buddeblog.com.au/the-17-national-broadband-network-principles/

The 'Public Park' concept

The ACMA management approach to bands used by 900Mhz, 2.4Ghz and 5.8Ghz Wireless LAN devices relies mainly on a 'public park' concept which applies equally to all users of the spectrum both community and commercial operations alike.

With the 'public park' concept, it is possible for the ACMA to adopt a regulatory approach that allows users to share spectrum without formal frequency coordination between users.

Under the 'public park' concept, the planning objective is for all users to be able to access a small portion of the total resource and to share that resource in a way that requires on minimal regulatory intervention.

Such sharing usually requires the power of these devices to be kept well down. This approach avoids the need for ongoing individual frequency co-ordinations and the registering of technical details and locations of equipment for each new user, as is the case with licensed frequencies.

So access to the band by all potential users is then relatively unconstrained. However as the locations of users are not coordinated or registered, operations in 'public park' bands do not carry guarantees of interference-free operation.

The use of a 'public park' approach is administratively efficient and gives great freedom to users, but the price of this freedom is increased risk of interference.

Class licence requirements

Under the ACMA Radiocommunications (Low Interference Potential Devices) Class Licence 2000, all users operating in the same spectrum segment on a shared basis are subject to the same conditions. A class licence governs the frequencies that may be used, commonly prescribes equipment standards, and may specify other technical and operational parameters.

The following is only a guide to the power and frequency that is allowable for Wireless LAN equipment. Please consult the ACMA Website for more information.

Please Note:The EIRP Power is the maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) e.g. the output power of AP increased by antenna gain.

Exempt Carrier (non-commercial WLAN)

The Air-Stream Network falls within the meaning of 'exempt network' under subsection 34 (3) of the Telecommunications Act 1997, the owner of the exempt network is not required to hold a carrier licence.

An exempt network includes a WLAN that is used for the sole purpose of supplying carriage services on a non-commercial basis.

The reference to sole purpose means that not only must it be shown that the network is used for supplying carriage services on a non-commercial basis, but that it is used only for that purpose.

It is the use of the network to supply carriage services that must be solely non-commercial.

The specific information relating to Air-Stream users is WLANs – licensing requirements

Core Router Nodes

These installations are to be considered the property of Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated, and are carefully administered under the guidance of the Network Team, to comply as closely as possible to the Technical Documentation.

Referred to as 'Core Nodes', they are designed to create a reliable backbone of connections upon which all other Air-Stream nodes interconnect.

Air-Stream APs have the following characteristics:

• Property of Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated.
• Administered by Air-Stream, specifically the committee and the Network Team.
• Only financial members may connect directly to a Core Node.
• Passage of non Air-Stream traffic is heavily regulated to ensure some QoS for financial members.
• Core Nodes may have backbones to both Independent Nodes and other Core Nodes.
• Link stability, server uptime, quality of service, routing and installation longevity can be guaranteed to some degree.

Client Nodes

These installations are usually a termination point, that is they do not route traffic to another part of the network.

The installation consists of a wireless device, in client mode, connected to a directional antenna that is pointed at either a Core Router Node or an Independent Router Node. The network at the Client Node can either be bridged (ie hosts are assigned IP's from the pool given to the remote access point) or routed where the client network is given a seperate subnet that is routed onto the network.

Most nodes on Air-Stream begin as Client Nodes.

Independent Router Nodes

These are installations not owned nor administered directly by the Air-Stream association. Such access points (called 'Independent Router Nodes') are to be used to extend the Air-Stream "core mesh".

Independent Routers have the following characteristics:

• Hardware not owned by Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated, with possibly the exception of wireless interfaces for backboning to the Air-Stream Core Network (may or may not be provided by Air-Stream, Air-Stream retains ownership of such equipment).
• The AP is not controlled directly by Air-Stream, other than as per the following guidelines.
• Configuration of the AP conforms to the standard for linking to other Independent APs and/or the Air-Stream Core Network.
• Air-Stream members connecting to an Independent AP are responsible for their own traffic to the Independent AP and the Air-Stream Core Network.
• The Independent AP owner is responsible for all other traffic from the Independent AP.
• Parties connecting to the Independent AP (including Air-Stream members) must agree to any terms and conditions set out by the Independent AP owner, including fees and access restrictions.

Independent Router Nodes may be connected to the Air-Stream Core Network either by a dedicated point to point backbone (exclusively carries data that must travel from node to node - usually in 802.11a) or by a "backbone" (usually 802.11b) that shares the wireless bandwidth of the remote access point.

Amateur Radio

Linux Hamsoft Database - radio.linux.org.au

theKibbeeRadio AmateurPreservation Society - www.k4hvk.com/linux_links

FOSS Organisations

LocalFOSS www.localfoss.org

The Free Software Foundation www.fsf.org

International Open Source Network www.iosn.net

Open Source Firmwares/Embedded OSes

This page lists the various open source firmware replacements for wireless AP devices such as Linksys WRT54G or Mitsubishi R100 or operating systems for embedded devices such as PC Engines WRAP.

OpenWrt is a Linux distribution for embedded devices, it will install on a wide variety of architectures from wireless APs to x86 - openwrt.org
See also: X-Wrt is a set of packages that enhance the end user experience of OpenWrt - x-wrt.org

DD-WRT is an easy to use firmware replacement for Broadcom based devices such as Linksys WRT54G and Asus-WL500g - www.dd-wrt.com

Ewrt is a firmware replacement specifically for the Linksys WRT54G, maintaining the Linksys look and feel but adding an array of features - www.portless.net
Note: Ewrt project has recently closed and is up for adoption

Freifunk Firmware is a firmware replacement with an emphasis on OLSR. It will run with as little as 2 MB of flash - freifunk.net/wiki/FreifunkFirmwareEnglish

Farewell Kat

It is with sadness we see our resident bicycle riding PhD student Katrina Jungnickel compete her research in Adelaide.

We all wish her great success in completing the PHD and looking forward to hearing more about the developing conclusions on the visual culture surrounding community wireless.

I would also like to thank her for participating in events and activities during her time as a volunteer member.

Nevertheless you can still keep reading about Kat’s adventures at www.studioincite.com/makingwifi

Making Wifi

Katrina Jungnickel our resident PhD sociology student from the University of Surrey, UK is in Adelaide looking into the visual culture that surrounds community wireless networks. Read about her community wifi adventures at www.studioincite.com/makingwifi

Community Information Strategies Australia

www.cisa.asn.au

CISA (Community Information Strategies Australia Inc.) is the peak community information organisation in South Australia, providing essential community services information and information management services including software, consultancy and training.

CISA operates on the belief that people need continuous access to appropriate and accurate information in order to make informed decisions and to participate fully in society.

CISA is a not-for-profit, non-government organisation. CISA receives an operating grant from Arts SA. Additional income is generated through sales of and subscriptions to our products and fee-for-service activities.

ITShare

Low-cost computers for people on low incomes.

ITShare SA Inc refurbishes discarded or donated computer parts and peripherals Our team of volunteers accept donations of computers from businesses, institutions and individuals, process them to make very serviceable, open source systems. For a nominal fee these computers are made available to low income groups, individuals and communities and, through joint projects with other agencies, to overseas communities in need.
Contact us

ITShare Bridgewater
ITShares Current base of operations in The Hills

Address:
Bridgewater hall (Downstairs)
Bridgewater
South Australia, Australia.
Website: www.itshare.org.au
Telephone: 61 8 8339 3116

SA Group Enterprises

SA Group Enterprises is a social enterprise with a difference who not only offer innovative new career opportunities for people with disability through unique businesses, but also through specialist competitive employment services for the Deaf and hearing impaired.

Inprint Design - Graphic design, promotion, print and website design.
Aspitech- Computer retail, repairs and e-waste management.
Wire Ware - Manufacturers and designers of Point of Purchase Display Stands.
Enclave - Achieving valued supported employment within the community.
Your Employment Success - Finding valued work for the Deaf and hearing impaired.

Call for equipment donations (working or not)

Air-Stream Wireless have been regularly presenting at a number of community IT and other Amateur Radio events over the past few years with great success. Along with our regular monthly meetings we are often asked two common questions.

“What sort of equipment do I need to get connected?”
“What do I need to setup my own router for others to connect to me?”

Nothing seems to do the job better that the real thing and although we have tried our best to provide examples at these events. It always seems difficult to pull together the best examples, as they often go into service at some stage.

So we are asking business and our members to help by donating samples. Clearly it doesn’t matter if they work or not as these will only be used for display purposes.

As an added incentive for businesses who donate we give that an opportunity to promote their company alongside these samples with added mention on our website and when ever a picture of the sample is used in articles or promotions.

Here is a list of the most popular items we are currently looking for, any help would be welcome.

Hardware:

• WRAP PCB or other dedicated router boards
• Mini PCI wireless cards
• MiniPCI to PCI cradles
• Ethernet Wireless Client/Bridge
• OpenWRT enabled wireless routers
• Waterproof enclosures
• Pigtails and connectors

Antennas:

• 2.4Ghz 8dbi Omni
• 2.4Ghz 12dbi Sector
• 2.4Ghz 15 to 25dbi Grid Dish
• 5.8Ghz 19 to 29dbi Grid Dish

Event Sponsors

There are many opportunities to promote your business, as we are always looking for sponsors of wireless LAN equipment and related products for new installations, competitions and demonstrations at up-coming events.

The Air-Stream Committee, while still promoting Air-Stream Wireless, is also seeking to engage greater community participation in the projects of the organisation. Consequently, we have organised a number of events through out the year that we believe would also be a great opportunity for businesses to sell wireless products to a very well defined market demographic. These events include:

o Software Freedom Day – Adelaide’s largest FOSS event
o Presentations at Open Source, Radio Amateur and community groups events
o ASLAN a LAN party event held six times a year
o Our Annual General Meetings
o State and National Conferences – On Community Wireless
o and our regular monthly meetings every month except December.

All events are generally open to anyone and are always well attended by not only members but many interested people from all walks of life.

Unlike many other wireless groups around Australia Air-Stream Wireless has continued to grow in numbers, coverage and is well known across South Australia. This has been a result of actively involving other groups such as smaller wireless communities, amateur radio clubs, universities, FOSS groups and other community organisations. Through these measures, and dedication of our volunteer members, we now boast the largest non-profit community wireless network in Australia.

Our website also boasts several hundred registered users and is visited by people from all over Australia and the world. With over thousand hits per day we believe we are the most popular website in Australia for people interested in community wireless networks and the technology used.

The majority of attendees at our events are predominantly computer, software, electronics or radio professionals, enthusiasts or students who all are regular consumers of related products.

Therefore these events are ideal for demonstrating and promoting new products and services. Business offering donations will be recognized at each event; your brochures or fliers will be distributed and clearly displayed on our website and any other promotional material we place in public.

Freenet Antennas - On Display

Freenet Antennas have donated one of their famous UltraWAP (Ethernet AP/Client/Bridge), Pigtails, Patch Antenna and PEO Cable Setup for our Wireless Network Display. Special thanks to Rob Clark who is well known for his support and hands-on involvement in DIY wireless networking.

Yawarra Information Appliances - On Display

Special thanks to Yawarra Information Appliances who provide some MiniPCI cards and Pigtails for our Wireless Network Display. Great products and service keep up the good work guys.

Affiliated Member to the WIA

More great news for members in 2006…

Members will be pleased to know that our application for affiliated membership to the Wireless Institute of Australia has been accepted and our certificate of affiliation is expected to arrive soon. See information on their website at http://www.wia.org.au/

APANA

APANA

The Australian Public Access Network Association Inc. (http://sa.apana.org.au or http://sa.apana.air-stream.wan) is a non-profit hobby group for people with a technical interest in networking and maintaining computer networks. Although not an ISP, APANA provides Internet connectivity for its members. As well, APANA has a connection into the Air-Stream wireless network and operates the North Terrace node.

See APANA's wireless setup page

dorkbotadelaide is comming soon...

Local Adelaide mail lists
music.columbia.edu/mailman/listinfo

dorkbotadelaide-announce = An announcement list for dorkbot-adelaide
dorkbotadelaide-blabber = A discussion list for dorkbot-adelaide

Elizabeth Amateur Radio Club

The Club is small but quite an active group of licensed amateur radio operators. The Club meets twice a month, once for a business meeting and the second meeting is for technical discussion on a specific subject or simply a social chat. In addition there are two "on-air" meetings each month in which members and others call in on a net frequency in one or other of the amateur bands for chat. Why not visit their website...

MAGIC2010

At our August meeting we where fortunate to have Professor David Powers talk about an exciting world robotics competition being held here in Adelaide.

Flinders University in the MAGIC 2010 Challenge

A consortium led by Flinders University with the support of leading defence contractor Thales is one of only six (and the only team from Australia) to have been short-listed for the final from an international field to take part in a global war games challenge.

Sponsored by the US and Australian Departments of Defence, the Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge, or MAGIC 2010, aims to develop super-smart robots that can work together to complete a task that involves multiple robots working together to accurately reconnoitre an urban environment, identifying and neutralising targets such as mines or improvised explosive devices.

TerraPages

Air-Stream Wireless will begin working with TerraPages to develop a new node and IP database for the wireless community providing detailed street level map information and directions.

This is a very exciting opportunity as TerraPages is a leading Australian Web Mapping company who deliver innovative and integrated map solutions via online Web interfaces.

Their Powerful TerraPages server platforms will deliver fast online maps and geospatial services direct to our Web site and designated APs across Adelaide.

For more information visit the website at terrapages.com

The Australian Network for Art and Technology

The Australian Network for Art and Technology brokers the synthesis between art and culture, science and technology.

ANAT the peak network and advocacy body for media artists working in screen, sound, installation, performance, literary and networked arenas; creating opportunities for connection, collaboration, innovation, research and development both nationally and internationally. Please visit their website for more information http://www.anat.org.au/

The Entertainment Technology Center

At the entertainment technology center they train artists, engineers and producers by putting them in pressure situations where they can learn how to work with others.

Students learn that they are not the king of the hill, that their skills are best exploited when people from other disciplines are present to put together a much bigger and much more ambitious project than they could do with a single discipline team.

The Serval Project

At our July members meeting we where very privileged to have Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen as our guest speaker to talk to us about his exciting new project using off-the-shelf smart phones that operate on an open source platform called Android and yes it uses wireless too.

This mobile platform has allowed for the integration of Asterisk and wireless mesh systems used in the Village Telco Project with Paul's own software, DNA (‘Distributed Numbering Architecture’) to create the Batphone an exciting, revolutionary new concept that will change the way we view communications.

Visit his website to learn more.

Also as seen on the New Inventors!

Thirty4 Interactive - Thank You

Our thanks go Thirty4 Interactive who through their generosity and support of Air-Stream Wireless have donated a server and are providing an opportunity for hosting and experimental peering.

Thirty4 Interactive is an exciting new business model with a unique approach to solving business needs through a full range of IT business services including reliable collocation, website design and online marketing systems.

ASLAN #02 - Picture

ASLAN #02 sketches

A few initial sketches from the 2006 ASLAN I thought people might be interested in.

ASLAN #03: July 14th - Gaming fun and experience the Air-Stream Network!

ASLan is a lanning event for gaming fun and also to promote the presence of the Air Stream wireless community in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.

6 ASLan events are planned to be held each calendar year. The next will be held on the 14th of July.

As usual its being held at the Mawson Centre from 10am until 10pm.

12 hours of lanning goodness all for the small cost of $10 payable at the door!

Please note, in the interests of the general lanning atmosphere, you can only win 1 Individual Prize and 1 Team prize. This is done to give others a chance at enjoying themselves still.

About the setup:
You will be supplied with:
- one seat / half a table (if you want a comfier seat bring your own as some do)
- one power point, you will be required to bring a power board if you need more
- one network port (Connected to Air-Stream Network)

What you need:
- Computer (box, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables)
- 5m Network Cable - at least cat5

What you don't need:
- Alcohol (ASLan is an open age event)
- Heaters / Fans (a small fan is only permissible upon request for serious cooling issues)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ASLAN?

ASLAN is LAN Party which aims to promote the Air-Stream community wireless and lanning in the northern suburbs.

2. What do I need to bring to ASLAN?

You'll need your computer system, equipped with a network card (your modem is NOT your network card) and network cable (5 meters minimum). We'll provide the tables, chairs, power and necessary network hardware. We can't always promise more than one power point per lanner so if you need more be sure to bring a power board. We also recommend you bring headphones instead of speakers. If using speakers understand that ASLan admins may direct you to turn your speakers down so that you will not take away from fellow ASLanners having a good time.

3. Where is ASLAN held?

Mawson Centre Mawson Lakes adjacent to the Mawson Lakes UniSA campus

4. Who to ask for help at ASLAN?

Paul Ridley (Rids) - LAN Logistics
Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) - LAN Technical Admin
Shawn Zeppel (DJ_HiP) - LAN Gaming Admin
Daniel Moscon (Shadey) - General Admin
Scott Cichon (BlowUpBob) - Promotions Admin

5. Can I bring a dedicated server to the LAN?

Yes. Provided an admin knows about it. In this case, Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) or a member of the server team should be apprised of the additional machine. Under no circumstances are private file servers permitted. This only applies to game servers, which must be located in the farm.

6. Is there parking at the LAN?

Parking in Mawson Lakes is in plentiful supply. You should have no problems as its all close to the venue.

7. what else do I need to do before the LAN?

Make sure you have allowed Windows to Update! To make sure you are up to date please visit www.windowsupdate.com
Make sure you have an up to date anti-virus program. Make sure that your computer is also free of virii. Anyone found to be transmitting a virus over the ASLAN network will have the network access removed until the issue is rectified to the satisfaction of one of our admins.
Check your network settings are set to Automatic

8. May I sell things at the LAN?

Provided prior permission is sought then all things are possible.
Permission is not required to pickup equipment that has already been agreed upon elsewhere

Clarification of these and anything else can be sought by emailing a committee member

We are proud members of:

ASLAN #04: Lots of gaming fun this Saturday 6th..! ›

ASLAN #04: Lots of gaming fun this Saturday 6th..!

ASLan is a lanning event for gaming fun and also to promote the presence of the Air Stream wireless community in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.

6 ASLan events are planned to be held each calendar year. The next will be held on the 6th October.

As usual its being held at the Mawson Centre from 10am until 10pm.

12 hours of lanning goodness all for the small cost of $10 payable at the door!

The Mawson Centre is located off Mawson Lakes Boulevard, via Main North Road.

Comps are listed on the full page.

The Comps are as follows:

To Be Decided closer to the date!

Please note, in the interests of the general lanning atmosphere, you can only win 1 Individual Prize and 1 Team prize. This is done to give others a chance at enjoying themselves still.

About the setup:

You will be supplied with:

- one seat / half a table (if you want a comfier seat bring your own as some do)

- one power point, you will be required to bring a power board if you need more

- one network port (Connected to Air-Stream Network)

What you need:
- Computer (box, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables)
- 5m Network Cable - at least cat5

What you don't need:
- Alcohol (ASLan is an open age event)
- Heaters / Fans (a small fan is only permissible upon request for serious cooling issues)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is ASLAN?

ASLAN is LAN Party which aims to promote the Air-Stream community wireless and lanning in the northern suburbs.

2. What do I need to bring to ASLAN?

You'll need your computer system, equipped with a network card (your modem is NOT your network card) and network cable (5 meters minimum). We'll provide the tables, chairs, power and necessary network hardware. We can't always promise more than one power point per lanner so if you need more be sure to bring a power board. We also recommend you bring headphones instead of speakers. If using speakers understand that ASLan admins may direct you to turn your speakers down so that you will not take away from fellow ASLanners having a good time.

3. Where is ASLAN held?

Mawson Centre Mawson Lakes adjacent to the Mawson Lakes UniSA campus

4. Who to ask for help at ASLAN?

Paul Ridley (Rids) - LAN Logistics

Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) - LAN Technical Admin

Shawn Zeppel (DJ_HiP) - LAN Gaming Admin

Daniel Moscon (Shadey) - General Admin

Scott Cichon (BlowUpBob) - Promotions Admin

5. Can I bring a dedicated server to the LAN?

Yes. Provided an admin knows about it. In this case, Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) or a member of the server team should be apprised of the additional machine. Under no circumstances are private file servers permitted. This only applies to game servers, which must be located in the farm.

6. Is there parking at the LAN?

Parking in Mawson Lakes is in plentiful supply. You should have no problems as its all close to the venue.

7. what else do I need to do before the LAN?

Make sure you have allowed Windows to Update! To make sure you are up to date please visit www.windowsupdate.com

Make sure you have an up to date anti-virus program. Make sure that your computer is also free of virii. Anyone found to be transmitting a virus over the ASLAN network will have the network access removed until the issue is rectified to the satisfaction of one of our admins.

Check your network settings are set to Automatic

8. May I sell things at the LAN?

Provided prior permission is sought then all things are possible.

Permission is not required to pickup equipment that has already been agreed upon elsewhere

Clarification of these and anything else can be sought by emailing the committee

We are proud members of:

Older ASLANs :
ASLAN #3

ASLAN #05: Saturday December 29th..!

ASLAN (Air-Stream LAN) is a lanning event for gaming fun and also to promote the presence of the Air Stream wireless community in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. 6 ASLAN events are planned to be held each calendar year. The next will be held on the 29th December.

As usual ASLAN is being held at the Mawson Centre from 11am until 11pm. That's 12 hours of lanning goodness all for the small cost of $10 payable at the door!

ASLAN have a new sponsor onboard, Photech Computers in Enfield!

And we welcome back ThermalTake aswell!

Signup online on or before 28th December for a chance to be in the draw for a Reloaded Ticket! * For the draw to be valid you must be present at ASLAN on Saturday 29th December at 1pm.

Location

The Mawson Centre is located off Mawson Lakes Boulevard, via Main North Road. It is adjacent to the Mawson Lakes UniSA campus.

Competitions

Game: TrackMania Nations Prize: Razor Death Adder mouse

Game: BMW M3 Challenge Prize: Christmas Present #1

Game: Empire Earth 2 Prize: Christmas Present #2

Game: Quake 3 Prize: Logitech X-240 Speakers

Game: Call of Duty 4 Prize: Leadtek 1000T TV tuner

Game: Guitar Hero Prize: Slab of Coke

Game: Air-Stream Challenge Prize: Netgear WG-602 AP

Please note, in the interests of the general lanning atmosphere, you can only win 1 Individual Prize and 1 Team prize. This is done to give others a chance at enjoying themselves still.

About the setup:

ASLAN will provide you with:

• one seat / half a table (if you want a comfier seat bring your own as some do)
• one power point, you will be required to bring a power board if you need more
• one gigabit network port and network cable (Connected to Air-Stream Community Wireless Network)

• Computer (box, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables)

• Alcohol (ASLan is an open age event)
• Heaters / Fans (a small fan is only permissible upon request for serious cooling issues)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ASLAN?

ASLAN is LAN Party which aims to promote the Air-Stream community wireless and lanning in the northern suburbs.

What do I need to bring to ASLAN?

You'll need your computer system, equipped with a network card (your modem is NOT your network card). We'll provide the tables, chairs, power and necessary network hardware and network cable. We can't always promise more than one power point per lanner so if you need more be sure to bring a power board. We also recommend you bring headphones instead of speakers. If using speakers understand that ASLAN admins may direct you to turn your speakers down so that you will not take away from fellow ASLanners having a good time.

Who do I ask for help at ASLAN?

• Paul Ridley (Rids) - ASLAN Logistics
• Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) - ASLAN Technical Admin
• Shawn Zeppel (DJ_HiP) - ASLAN Gaming Admin
• Daniel Moscon (Shadey) - ASLAN General Admin
• Scott Cichon (BlowUpBob) - ASLAN Promotions Admin

Can I bring a dedicated server to ASLAN?

Yes. Provided an admin knows about it. In this case, Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) or a member of the server team should be apprised of the additional machine. Under no circumstances are private file servers permitted. This only applies to game servers, which must be located in the farm.

Is there parking at ASLAN?

Parking in Mawson Lakes is in plentiful supply. You should have no problems as its all close to the venue.

What else do I need to do before ASLAN?

• Make sure you have allowed Windows to Update! Please visit www.windowsupdate.com.
• Make sure you have an up to date anti-virus program. Make sure that your computer is also free of virii. Anyone found to be transmitting a virus over the ASLAN network will have the network access removed until the issue is rectified to the satisfaction of one of our admins.
• Check your network settings are set to Automatic.

May I sell things at ASLAN?

Provided prior permission is sought then all things are possible. Permission is not required to pickup equipment that has already been agreed upon elsewhere.

Clarification of these and anything else can be sought by emailing the committee

ASLAN are proud members of the South Australian LAN Association:

Previous ASLANs:

• ASLAN #4
• ASLAN #3

ASLAN #06: 22nd of March!

ASLAN (Air-Stream LAN) is a lanning event for gaming fun and also to promote the presence of the Air Stream wireless community in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. Multiple ASLAN events are planned to be held each calendar year. The next will be held on the 22nd of March.

As usual ASLAN is being held at the Mawson Centre from 10am until 10pm. That's 12 hours of lanning goodness all for the small cost of $10 payable at the door!

Thanks to Photech's continued sponsorship this year!,

Photech Computers in Enfield!

And we welcome back ThermalTake aswell!

Location

The Mawson Centre is located off Mawson Lakes Boulevard, via Main North Road. It is adjacent to the Mawson Lakes UniSA campus.

Competitions

Call Of Duty 4 2v2 – Bucket of Coke

Call Of Duty 4: Slaughter session – Razor Mantis Speed Mouse Mat

CnC3 – Supreme Commander Game

Quake 3 DM - $50 Photech Voucher

Track Mania – Photech HDD Enclosure

V8 Supercars 3 – Photech Headphones

Please note, in the interests of the general lanning atmosphere, you can only win 1 Individual Prize and 1 Team prize. This is done to give others a chance at enjoying themselves still.

About the setup:

ASLAN will provide you with:

• one seat / half a table (if you want a comfier seat bring your own as some do)
• one power point, you will be required to bring a power board if you need more
• one gigabit network port and network cable (Connected to Air-Stream Community Wireless Network)

• Computer (box, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables)

• Alcohol (ASLan is an open age event)
• Heaters / Fans (a small fan is only permissible upon request for serious cooling issues)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ASLAN?

ASLAN is LAN Party which aims to promote the Air-Stream community wireless and lanning in the northern suburbs.

What do I need to bring to ASLAN?

You'll need your computer system, equipped with a network card (your modem is NOT your network card). We'll provide the tables, chairs, power and necessary network hardware and network cable. We can't always promise more than one power point per lanner so if you need more be sure to bring a power board. We also recommend you bring headphones instead of speakers. If using speakers understand that ASLAN admins may direct you to turn your speakers down so that you will not take away from fellow ASLanners having a good time.

Who do I ask for help at ASLAN?

• Paul Ridley (Rids) - ASLAN Logistics
• Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) - ASLAN Technical Admin
• Shawn Zeppel (Shawn) - ASLAN Sponsorship Admin
• Daniel Moscon (shadey) - ASLAN General Admin
• Scott Cichon (BlowUpBob) - ASLAN Promotions Admin

Can I bring a dedicated server to ASLAN?

Yes. Provided an admin knows about it. In this case, Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) or a member of the server team should be apprised of the additional machine. Under no circumstances are private file servers permitted. This only applies to game servers, which must be located in the farm.

Is there parking at ASLAN?

Parking in Mawson Lakes is in plentiful supply. You should have no problems as its all close to the venue.

What else do I need to do before ASLAN?

• Make sure you have allowed Windows to Update! Please visit www.windowsupdate.com.
• Make sure you have an up to date anti-virus program. Make sure that your computer is also free of virii. Anyone found to be transmitting a virus over the ASLAN network will have the network access removed until the issue is rectified to the satisfaction of one of our admins.
• Check your network settings are set to Automatic.

May I sell things at ASLAN?

Provided prior permission is sought then all things are possible. Permission is not required to pickup equipment that has already been agreed upon elsewhere.

Clarification of these and anything else can be sought by emailing the committee

ASLAN are proud members of the South Australian LAN Association:

Previous ASLANs:

• ASLAN #5
• ASLAN #4
• ASLAN #3

ASLAN #07: 10th of May!

ASLAN (Air-Stream LAN) is a lanning event for gaming fun and also to promote the presence of the Air Stream wireless community in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. Multiple ASLAN events are planned to be held each calendar year. The next will be held on the 10th of May.

As usual ASLAN is being held at the Mawson Centre from 10am until 10pm. That's 12 hours of lanning goodness all for the small cost of $10 payable at the door!

Thanks to Photech's continued sponsorship this year!,

Photech Computers in Enfield!

And we welcome back ThermalTake aswell!

Location

The Mawson Centre is located off Mawson Lakes Boulevard, via Main North Road. It is adjacent to the Mawson Lakes UniSA campus.

Competitions

Call Of Duty 4: (ModWarFare) 1v1

Call Of Duty 4: (ModWarFare) Slaughter session

Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Soldier of Fortune 2 DM

Track Mania

GTR2

Unreal Tournament 3

Please note, in the interests of the general lanning atmosphere, you can only win 1 Individual Prize and 1 Team prize. This is done to give others a chance at enjoying themselves still.

About the setup:

ASLAN will provide you with:

• one seat / half a table (if you want a comfier seat bring your own as some do)
• one power point, you will be required to bring a power board if you need more
• one gigabit network port and network cable (Connected to Air-Stream Community Wireless Network)

• Computer (box, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables)

• Alcohol (ASLan is an open age event)
• Heaters / Fans (a small fan is only permissible upon request for serious cooling issues)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ASLAN?

ASLAN is LAN Party which aims to promote the Air-Stream community wireless and lanning in the northern suburbs.

What do I need to bring to ASLAN?

You'll need your computer system, equipped with a network card (your modem is NOT your network card). We'll provide the tables, chairs, power and necessary network hardware and network cable. We can't always promise more than one power point per lanner so if you need more be sure to bring a power board. We also recommend you bring headphones instead of speakers. If using speakers understand that ASLAN admins may direct you to turn your speakers down so that you will not take away from fellow ASLanners having a good time.

Who do I ask for help at ASLAN?

• Paul Ridley (Rids) - ASLAN Logistics
• Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) - ASLAN Technical Admin
• Shawn Zeppel (Shawn) - ASLAN Sponsorship Admin
• Daniel Moscon (shadey) - ASLAN General Admin
• Scott Cichon (BlowUpBob) - ASLAN Promotions Admin

Can I bring a dedicated server to ASLAN?

Yes. Provided an admin knows about it. In this case, Chris Cichon (DrGeforce3) or a member of the server team should be apprised of the additional machine. Under no circumstances are private file servers permitted. This only applies to game servers, which must be located in the farm.

Is there parking at ASLAN?

Parking in Mawson Lakes is in plentiful supply. You should have no problems as its all close to the venue.

What else do I need to do before ASLAN?

• Make sure you have allowed Windows to Update! Please visit www.windowsupdate.com.
• Make sure you have an up to date anti-virus program. Make sure that your computer is also free of virii. Anyone found to be transmitting a virus over the ASLAN network will have the network access removed until the issue is rectified to the satisfaction of one of our admins.
• Check your network settings are set to Automatic.

May I sell things at ASLAN?

Provided prior permission is sought then all things are possible. Permission is not required to pickup equipment that has already been agreed upon elsewhere.

Clarification of these and anything else can be sought by emailing the committee

ASLAN are proud members of the South Australian LAN Association:

Previous ASLANs:

• ASLAN #6
• ASLAN #5
• ASLAN #4
• ASLAN #3

ASLAN #08 Biggest Success Ever

Chris Cichon a coordinator and systems administrator of the event said "it's a great venue at the Mawson Centre we are very lucky, so we try to make sure the network is well supported and players have a great time".

Air-Stream Wireless wishes to thank

• The Mawson Centre for their generosity and support.
• Paul Ridley (Front Door / General Operations)
• Scott Cichon (Promotions / General admin)
• Chris Cichon (Network / Gaming admin)
• Brad Hill (General / Gaming)
• Tom Moscon (Gaming Admin)
• Michael Kellow (Gaming Admin)
• Shawn Zeppel (Sponsorship / Gaming Admin)
• Our sponsors, and the many others involved who made this event successful

ASLAN #15 - In Review

New Venue, New Games, New Excitement, with the same old Awesome Lan and great atmosphere.

Click through to read more!

Due to our new venue we spent many many hours working out the best layout for the room, and I think we got it pretty much right.

Setup
Setup

Setup finished about 3:30am! However it ment for a much smoother day in only a matter of hours... some of the admins even started sleep walking!

Setup

So the big day arrived, with still plenty to do, the Admins go to work. It was go go go right from the beginning, like normal!

The Air-Stream link was provided by Nekron's Portable Mast which was set up in the back carpark. This provided the lanners with Internet and Air-stream for the duration of the lan, thanks again to Nekron, Shadey and Machspeed for there time with testing and setting it all up!

Wifi Setup

The lan got underway at 10am on the dot, lanners poured in and the fun began

Lan

There were lanners, spectators and even some table top gamers all enjoying the day

Games

The LAN was MC'ed and Run by Rids as usual, and with the new layout he had a small stage to run his operations from which proved to be very effective for initiating comps and gathering registrations for team events.

Rid's Desk

So along with the new venue, also came new facilities. Being the fact we are in the middle of a suburb now and no longer next door to food venues we took it upon ourselves to provide food and refreshments from the small kitchen at the Hillcrest Community Centre. The kitchen was run by our very own Air-Stream Chef Loc who provided some awesome, real food, meals. Such as "Supreme Noodles" and "Curry of Duty", just a couple of our Pro Lanner Meals available on the day!

Kitchen's Menu

Chef Loc

Supreme Noodles

Curry of Duty

So the event went without a hitch, we didn't lose power, we didn't trip and circuits, we didn't blow up any switches, and we did give away all our prizes!

So here are all the awesome winners from the various competitions throughout the day. We gave away 27 sets of prizes this lan! All thanks to our Sponsors.

Click on any image to make them larger

Winner 1Winner 2Winner 3Winner 4Winner 5

Winner 6Winner 7Winner 8Winner 9Winner 10

Winner 11Winner 12Winner 13Winner 14Winner 15

Winner 16Winner 17Winner 18Winner 19Winner 20

Winner 21Winner 22Winner 23Winner 24Winner 25

Winner 26Winner 27

There's the winners! Thanks to everyone who came, and a big thanks to all our Sponsors!

Thanks for the continued support from our great sponsors...

So in closing, thanks to all the Lanners who stuck with us through our 9 month gap, and be assured we're coming back faster than last time for another great event. Keep your eye on the website and facebook, updates will be there first!

Lanners (LHS)Lanners (RHS)

And here's one more treat, we made a time lapse of the event from setup, to pack up! Enjoy, and see you at the next ASLAN!

ASLAN #17 - In Review

Well what a lan, another one over and done with!
It was a great LAN thanks to everyone who came, thanks to all our sponsors once again! And we hope to see you at ASLAN 18!

ASLAN #18 - In Review

Hours of LAN game entertainment, hot soup and a sausage sizzle was the name of the game (several, actually) at ASLAN 18.

ASLAN 18 was held at the Hillcrest Community Centre on the 14th of May, 2011.

Our hard-working Admins and volunteers set up for the event. The Admins made sure that everything ran smoothly and without a hitch.

After several hours of rigging up the venue for the big day, it was time for the fun to begin...

The first salvo of gaming opened up at 1500 hours (3pm).

Paul "Rids" provided his mellifluous voice to MC the event once again.

"shadey" presided over the kitchen, where one could find such gastronomic delights such as “Shadey's Mum's Pumpkin Soup” with a side of bread.

Sausages sizzled outside at the hall entrance allowing the smell to draw the lanners attention.

Teams were organised for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare two-versus-two team matches.

An Xbox 360 displayed games on a projector screen; multiplayer games such as Halo and Dead or Alive 4 were ready for play.

Players were sporadically peppered with NERF gun pellets throughout the day.

Competitions of Blur, TrackMania, and Unreal Tournament followed.

This was followed by an hour-long Medal of Honor: Allied Assault D-Day landing, as the gamers, playing as the Americans, attempted to storm the Admins as the Germans.

The night ended as gamers descended into a glorious free-for-all slaughter in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and knifings and suicide grenade detonations ensued.

At the end of the night, it was time to give out the prizes. See the gallery of honour below for the winners. Congratulations!

(Including the famous door prize...)

Click on any image to make them larger

Winner 1Winner 2Winner 3Winner 4Winner 5

Winner 6Winner 7Winner 8Winner 9Winner 10

Winner 11Winner 12Winner 13Winner 14Winner 15

Winner 16Winner 17

There's the winners! Thanks to everyone who came, and a big thanks to the continued support from all of our sponsors...

Without them, we'd have no LAN, so please visit their stores, and remember them for your next upgrade!

ASLAN #19 - In Review

ASLAN #19 took place on the 23rd of July, 2011 at Hillcrest Community Centre - another success with ten hours of LAN gaming goodness!

Our hard-working admins and volunteers worked from 10:00am to ensure the event ran smoothly.

The fun opened at 2:00pm with TrackMania, followed by Blur, Team Fortress 2 and Unreal Tournament competitions.

Chris "DrGeForce3" Cichon was the DJ for the event.

Paul "Rids" Ridley (middle) returned to MC the LAN and initiated competitions and registered players for team games.

Daniel "Shadey" Moscon was once again lord of the kitchen. Making a return were fare such as pasties, pies and and sausage rolls, and delicious new dishes were available; Shadey's vegetable and lamb "Shadey's Soup" and shepherd's pie.

Paul "Pazza" Parry, Matthew "Machspeed" Thompson, Michael "Nekron" Kellow, and Geoff "blue18" Woodberry provided fast and effective admin support.

As everyone played on into the night, the lanners, as the Americans, were pitted against the Admins, playing as the Nazis in the D-Day map for MOHAA (Medal of Honor: Allied Assault). After an intense battle, the Admins triumphed (Heil to the Admins, baby!), avenging the loss they suffered during the previous MOHAA game at ASLAN #18.
The last competition for the night was a free-for-all brawl in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It quickly descended into a battle of will, as only the deadliest players clung on in their struggle to reach the top of the game rankings.

Finally, it was time to announce the prize winners.

Our prize pool for the night:

And here are our prize winners! Awesome job, guys!

Blur - 3rd Place - Caddy

Blur - 2nd Place - Maelstrom

Blur - 1st Place - Administrator

Team Fortress 2 - 2v2 - 3rd Place - Maelstrom and Sloth

Team Fortress 2 - 2v2 - 2nd Place - Lazza and Kassi

Team Fortress 2 - 2v2 - 1st Place - Killer Smurf and JBLM

Unreal Tournament 3 - 3v3 - 2nd Place - Team "At Last"

Unreal Tournament 3 - 3v3 - 1st Place - Team "The Winners"

Call of Duty 4 - Free-for-all - 3rd Place - Killer Smurf

Call of Duty 4 - Free-for-all - 2nd Place - Master Shifty

Call of Duty 4 - Free-for-all - 1st Place - Maelstrom

TrackMania - 5th Place - Chicken Parmy

TrackMania - 4th Place - Scott

TrackMania - 3rd Place - Mongoose

TrackMania - 2nd Place - Avert

TrackMania - 1st Place - Caddy

And the door prize goes to...

...Dragoon!

Congratulations to our prize winners! Awesome job, guys!

A big thank you goes to everyone who came to ASLAN #19 to make it a success and a special thank you to our sponsors! We couldn't have done it without them! Please visit their stores, and remember them for your next upgrade!

A poster promoting ASLAN #20 on the 22nd of October - A milestone in our history as it is our twentieth LAN! The theme is a "ZOMBIELAN" so come dressed as a zombie or any kind of scary fiend or monster - prizes will be available for the best-dressed ghoul! See you all there!

Scenes from ASLAN #19.

ASLAN Express Registration

For EXPRESS registration and entry at ASLAN please complete the form below once you have pre purchased a ticket. Tickets will be available from our sponsor Game Traders Ingle Farm!! For current lan information see ASLAN #18 - May 14th 2011
Thanks for the continued support from our great sponsors...

ASLAN Express Registration Form

AutismSA strengthening communities and skills for people with Asperger's

AutismSA, with the support of Community Benefit SA, are offering a unique computer training opportunity for people with Asperger's. To achieve this, AutismSA has teamed up with two very different community organisations to run a free training program for people who may have difficulty participating in other formalised training environments.

The result is an outstanding training course where participants learn real-world skills in computer construction alongside a fun social event. Participants will have the opportunity to apply what they have learned as well as to interact with peers in the broader community who share common interests.

Air-Stream Wireless is one of Australia’s largest DIY community wireless networks and for the last two years have been running a successful network gaming event in Adelaide’s northern suburbs called ASlan. The aim of the event has been educational and was designed to introduce wireless technologies and community wireless networks to people in the gaming community. ASlan events have become very popular with the gaming community as the organisers have brought a technology sharing culture to the event making them both fun and informative.

Network gaming events, often called LAN Parties, despite what most people might think, are extremely technical, challenging and demanding to run. Most gaming enthusiasts bring souped-up PCs in order to connect into a high-speed network of servers and other user built systems. Often running for 12 hours, they are very much a social gathering of people from a diverse range of backgrounds, knowledge and ages where computers are pushed to their limits.

The Air-Stream Wireless organisers bring real-world knowledge of technology construction from years of hands-on experience building and maintaining a broadband network that spans hundreds of square kilometres, as well as supporting many other regular technical events.

Another very different organisation is also offering it's support. SA Group Enterprises is an organisation who provide valued employment and vocational training for people with disabilities within a diverse range of small businesses including graphic design, manufacturing and computing. As a long-standing sponsor of Air-Stream and ASlan, SA Group Enterprises is providing professional advice in the development of the course and is also donating crucial software and network equipment.

Inquires about being a participant at one of the two courses please contact Katharine Annear at AutismSA on (08) 8379 6976

Course Outline

The ASLAN training programme will last for 6½ hours and will provide training for two different groups of six people at the next two ASLAN events: 25th April, 2009 and 4th of July, 2009.

Each courseis free and is designed to train six people with Aspergers Syndrome in the correct assembly of gaming PCs, with the opportunity to participate in the main ASLAN event alongside 50 other players.

Entry to the ASLAN event will be free and Air-Stream\ASLAN will provide a pizza tea for those involved.

Session Information:
12am – 3pm - Session 1

• Introductions
• Brief overview of course
• Hardware assembly
• Begin software installations (Vista OS pre-installed, sysprep for end user)

3pm – 3:30pm - Break

3:30pm – 6:30pm – Session 2

• Review of material covered
• Continue software installation
• Setup PC in main gaming area
• Play games with other lanners
• End of training speeches followed by a pizza tea, supplied by Air-Stream/ASLAN

Inquires about being a participant at one of the two courses please contact Katharine Annear at AutismSA on (08) 8379 6976

Open Day 3 Prize Winners

Congratulations Ron Coat and Luke Finlay

For winning the Minitar 802.11G Access Point & Routers at the Open Day 3

Open Day 3 Intro

Download agenda: http://www.air-stream.org/files/Open-Day-3.pdf (75.49 KB)

To all members and interested wireless enthusiasts
Make this an informative day and bring along your equipment. Air-Stream Network access will be available on-site including Internet access. If you need tips on how to setup wireless equipment, implement a router or even terminate coaxial leads, this is your day…

We are holding Open Day 2005 on the 21st of May at Parkside Primary School from 11am. Events on the day will include presentations, demonstrations of the Air-Stream network, wireless hardware and software and an antenna shootout.

We encourage all past and present Air-Stream members to attend the Open Day, as well as any family or friends you think may be interested in our project. If you wish to contribute in any way, please do not hesitate to email the committee.

Parkside Primary is located on Robsart St Parkside, adjacent to Glen Osmond Rd.

Hope to see you all there !

If anyone would like to set-up a stall, present, volunteer or just help on the day contact Jimmy Day, Secretary -

Congratulations to the Prize Winners at Open Day 4

Ridge Racer Competition - Sony Prizes Posters and CDs
Matthew Grez and Tim Zanker

New Membership Prize - Linksys WRT54g v3.1 Wireless Router - thanks to our sponsors Smartwave Wireless
Kim Hawtin

Raffle Prize 1 - CM9 wireless kits - thanks to our sponsors Yawarra Information Appliances
Scott Cichon and Paul Ridley

Raffel Prize 2 - Linksys Wireless ADSL2+ Gateway - thanks to our sponsors Internode Systems
Chris Stabolidis

Thank You

Air-Stream Wireless Incorporated wishes to thank the following people and organisations for there support of our fourth annual Open Day.
More...

Open Day 4 Intro

Starts 11am Parkside Primary School on Glen Osmond Road, Parkside

Entry is free to Adelaide’s premier non-profit community wireless networking event and is for anyone with an interest in wireless LAN, regardless if your interests lay at home, business or community Wide Area Networks there is something for everyone.

Download event poster/flier: Open_day_2006.pdf (80Kb)

Your Entry Into Amateur Radio

Paul Hoffmann VK5PH is running another of the Amateur Radio Foundation License courses on the weekend of the 29/30March. It will be held at the Scout Hall at Glenelg. This is all set up for training complete with an overhead projector with radios and antennas already installed. Please read more for further details and contact information

Amateur Radio Foundation License Classes

What: Training for the Amateur Radio Foundation Licence.

Where:Scout Hall located at the Patawalonga end of Anderson Ave., Glenelg North

When: 0900-1700Hrs on the 29th & 30th of March 2008

• $35 for the examination
• $61 for the ACMA licence for successful candidates
• $5 towards the hall & postage costs

• Saturday
  Consists of a presentation that covers most of the topics in the manual with an emphasis on the examinable material. This is followed by a run through the practical examination with some hands on practice.
• Sunday
  Starts with a revision period followed by a question section. Then we have the theory and practical examinations.

Lunch Not provided – please bring your lunch or purchase it from nearby stores.

• You should all have and be reading the Foundation Licence Manual (available for $16 or $20 posted).
• You will need some form of photographic identification eg drivers license, passport, student or employment card or 3 of the following Medicare, credit, pension card or a electricity, gas or telephone account showing name and address. Minors must bring an adult who can identify the minor and themselves using the criteria above above.
• You must have a passport photograph of yourself for inclusion in your licence application.
• Think about a callsign for yourself - VK5Fxxx (x=alpha characters). Check the ACMA website for availability of the callsign you are interested in.
• Bring a pen, pencil, non-programmable calculator and notepad.
• Sufficient cash/cheque to cover the exam, licence and hall cost.

Please contact Paul Hoffmann (VK5PH) on 0418803177 or by email: vk5ph@wia.org.au if you have any further questions regarding the training.

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